The Bazaar Commandments: How to Make Your Outfit Look Expensive

Flipping through the pages of Harper’s BAZAAR or perusing Bazaar.com, you might think the editors assume you can spend $1,000 a month on shoes and buy a new coat every season, but the reality is, we don’t. We edit a magazine and a website to inspire your personal style—and what’s more personal than making the most of what you’ve got? Here, we’ve gathered some tried-and-true tips to making your clothes look luxe, even when they aren’t. Some might seem obvious (but require going the extra mile), while others are a testament to us being privy to the best-dressed women on a daily basis. It’s not rocket science, but it certainly commands your attention.

1Get it tailored.

Taking the extra two days from purchase to have your neighborhood tailor nip and tuck your latest great find, versus ripping the tags off and wearing right away, will elevate the final product way beyond its original price tag.

2Make sure everything is freshly pressed.

This seems like something your mother would say and we all know time in the morning is precious. Taking the extra five minutes to steam or press your look will add instant polish to even your most worn-in wardrobe MVPs.

3Add gold accessories.

There is just something about structural, gilded extras—whether a bag or jewelry or both—that make you look like you stepped out of the pages of a magazine.

4Dress in tonal colors like all white or all black.

Not only is it incredibly elongating, but a monochrome outfit always looks intentional and put together. (Tip: Just make sure your whites are bright and your blacks match.)

5Add a belt and tuck in for polish.

Insouciance is something we’re always pursuing in the style department, but in the case of looking like you know what you’re doing, tuck in any shirttails or a baggy sweater hem and cinch your waist with a chic belt for maximum impact.

6Keep handbags shiny and clean.

Use Windex on patent leather, unscented body lotion on all other leather, re-stuff easily malleable shapes when storing and always, always pack your purses in dust bags when traveling.

Male style tribes: As lines blur, do they still exist?

Published 15th January 2018

Credit: BEN STANSALL/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Male style tribes: As lines blur, do they still exist?

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Written by CNN Style Staff

In post-war Britain mods, rockers, skinheads and teddy boys would happily engage in casual violence to defend the honor of their dress sense. In America meanwhile, bikers would beat up hippies in parking lots just for having marginally wider jeans — “like trousers, like brain” as The Clash’s singer Joe Strummer put it.

Fashion divided and united. In the 1980s London’s clubbing Blitz Kids or New York’s Club Kids (who ruled the city’s dance clubs until the early 1990s) found solace in numbers by sticking out rather than fitting in. From Congolese Sapeurs to “Madchester” pill-heads, clothes helped men bond, express themselves, and break away from parochial attitudes and cultural traditions.

In the 1989 coffee table classic “Jocks and Nerds,” Richard Martin and Harold Koda categorized the last century of menswear into 12 consistent male identities: The eponymous high school archetypes sitting alongside the worker, rebel, cowboy, military man, businessman, Joe College, sportsman, man-about-town and dandy.

By today’s standards these categories sound almost Victorian. But have they been replaced with distinct modern styles or have they simply mutated? Is today’s Vetements victim yesterday’s sportsman in a garish colored windbreaker jacket? Is the bearded urban lumberjack just the bastard offspring of the cowboy and the nerd?

1/9 – Charles Jeffrey Loverboy

This January’s London Fashion Week Men’s saw designers exploring an array of ideas about what men should be wearing in 2018. Charles Jeffrey presented his Loverboy collection, which centered around “the myth of gay pride,” according to his press release. Credit: Starworks

Have the distinct style tribes of the past overlapped and coagulated until merging into one? When I see my dad in a windbreaker that wouldn’t be out of place on Drake’s Instagram, or a TV chef in a JW Anderson x Uniqlo scarf, I worry that we’re edging ever closer to a sartorial lowest common denominator. “Hypernormcore-alization,” if you will.

Lastly, capitalism has accelerated fashion to the point where our icons change their dress sense with every album, film or season. The proliferation of low-cost disposable clothes means that anyone with an online account at a high street shop can keep up, regardless of the impact on the environment.

The internet makes every look available in real time, meaning Zara can rip off Balenciaga before the campaign’s even been printed in Vogue. And social media meanwhile weakens the desire to gather in real life to feel appreciated (or indeed alienated).

Debates around manhood and masculinity are evolving while gender-specific subcultures are dying out. Revolutions in equality slowly dismantle boundaries, blurring old lines and throwing up new conversations. In these politically fraught but socially progressive times, what can we learn from modern menswear designers? And where does it leave our disparate style tribes?

Harry’s Style: Gucci

The metrosexual male may have died off along with Hugh Grant’s character sometime between the second and third Bridget Jones movies, but its descendants still walk the earth. Guys who google “best moisturizers for men” and wear Dove roll-on deodorant but “only the gray one.”

Thankfully, labels like Gucci are doing the hard psychological work so that we don’t have to, ditching separate male and female shows in favor of a single unisex catwalk. It’s one of many gambles that have paid off for the brand, still riding high after appointing Alessandro Michele as creative director in 2015.

Ed-Hardy-on-acid prints and medieval maximalism have brought the brand back from the outlet store and built an army of celebrity devotees in the process, from Florence Welch to Lil Pump. The latter is currently doing for Gucci what American hip-hop trio Migos did for Versace in 2013 — namely providing millions of dollars’ worth of free advertising by name-checking the brand several times in a song, while helping keep the demographic young, with 55% of 2017 sales made to people under 35, according to a Guardian report. For his latest collection Alessandro even raided Elton John’s archive and lived to tell the tale, which should help keep Harry Styles floral for the foreseeable.

Cold War Kids: Gosha Rubchinskiy

The Berlin Wall has now been down longer than it was up, and in the thirty years since its fall Eastern Europe has evolved into an unlikely fashion superpower. Although some of the “Eastern Bloc Aesthetics” that journalists enthuse over are just brutalist fantasies projected onto a large part of the world they don’t understand, the international influence of young designers like Demna Gvasalia and Gosha Rubchinskiy are undeniable.

The latter’s recent Burberry collaboration has caused Jumangi-esque stampedes at ultra-cool concept store Dover Street Market in London earlier this month, as dot-com-dads fight pseudo-lads for the first “essential drop” of the year. Arriving just in time for the Russian world cup this summer, the collaboration purports to “remix the past and present” celebrating football, youth culture and that iconic Burberry tartan. Most importantly it looks like fun, and reminds us that an Iron Curtain influence means more than wearing your hammer and sickle on your sleeve.

Urbane Outfitters: Off-White

Off-White Spring-Summer 2018. Credit: Off-White

As the weekly queues down London’s Brewer Street and LA’s Fairfax Avenue for the latest Supreme garment attest, young streetwear brands are now more bankable than even the most hotly tipped Central Saint Martins art school graduates. Rapper Tyler the Creator opened his new Golf Wang superstore in time for its second Converse collaboration, while UK skate royalty brand Palace continue to blow kids’ minds and bank accounts, with its most limited edition items garnering more attention than the deluxe brands it started out bootlegging.

Palace and Golf are so popular that they’re even inspiring new little brother labels like Earl Sweatshirt’s Deathworld and model and skater Blondey McCoy’s brand, Thames. There’s always room on the board. One designer managing to merge the Hypebeast mentality with high fashion is Kanye West’s creative director and former architecture student Virgil Abloh. In an interview with High Snobiety, Abloh said, “For Off-White, my contribution was I should take a young idea of streetwear, this idea that T-shirts and hoodies are important, but making that in the same factories as luxury houses.”

Essentially Milan for millennials. He envisions it as democratic, open-source couture, with recent seasons inspired as much by Princess Diana and Peter Saville as his teenage years skateboarding to Nirvana.

Cross-culturalists: Wales Bonner

Wales Bonner Autum-Winter 2018. Credit: Getty Images

British suit tailoring prides itself on tradition. Regardless of the risks taken over the years, it usually returns to classic fabrics, fits and silhouettes. Whether it’s Savile Row or Marks & Spencer, ageing customers know what they like and like what they know. Traditions are at play in the work of 2016 LVMH Prize-winning designer Grace Wales Bonner, but not such obvious ones.

Her Autumn-Winter 2018 collection focused on Creole identity in the Caribbean and “the joy of collective belonging,” according to a Vogue report

The cultural narratives of her first six seasons reflect her extensive personal research into post-colonial theory and black literature (as told in an interview to the Guardian last year), strengthening her vision with rare intellectual vigor. Vice recently suggested that the suit has lost its “cultural capital” and though this might be true for the Western establishment, it’s exciting to see a young designer giving new life to formalwear by weaving in some of its richest historical threads.

Lover Boys: Charles Jeffrey

Charles Jeffrey’s LOVERBOY at London Fashion Week Men’s in January 2018. Credit: Starworks

This past London Fashion Week Men’s show might have only been his second ever, but Charles Jeffrey’s Loverboy (named after the London club night that helped fund his degree) has already garnered a serious reputation. This season the aptly named “Tantrum” collection centered on “the myth of gay pride” according to his press release and its defense mechanisms of “peacockery and aggressive flamboyance” in the queer community. Cartoon picadors, corsets, slashed suits, leathers, tartans and skirts appeared in the colors of both of Jeffrey’s native Scottish flags, with any notions of gender seeming truly archaic in the face of it all.

With screaming models choreographed by performance artist Theo Adams, a man painted blue drumming to The Prodigy and Gary Card sculptures slowly inflating, this was orchestrated chaos from a closely knit family of collaborators celebrating more than just a collection of clothes. With Jeffrey citing Alan Downs’ “The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World” as a key inspiration. It’s uplifting seeing Loverboy build a world of its own. They might just be the last gang in town.

The Biggest Spring 2018 Fashion Trends From the Runways

From sheer transparencies to saturated color and anoraks, it’s been a season full of energy and optimism.

With New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks behind us, the biggest spring 2018 fashion trends have crystallized for buyers and editors planning out the season. Here are WWD’s top spring 2018 fashion trends spotted by cities. From sheer transparencies to saturated color and anoraks, it’s been a season full of energy and optimism.

Here are some of the highlights. Click through to the gallery above for a comprehensive look at the trends.

Americana: Raf Simons spoke about the American dream again for spring, which he depicted his own particular way; while Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia’s was a cheerful, spirited rally with tons of stripes and stars in between from Self-Portrait, Phillip Lim and Maria Cornejo.

Anoraks: There was definitely a huge Nineties urban vibe happening. It was expressed in different ways, but the common item was the Windbreaker/parka/anorak jacket. In whatever iteration, it will be everywhere next season — from the super casual versions at Public School, to the dressier takes at Oscar de la Renta.

Haute Denim: Fancy pants, anyone? Perhaps fancy jeans? The all-American staple got the formal treatment at the spring shows as designers paired them with evening attire and in some cases, “bewejeled” them enough to take you into a gala.

Saturated Colors: No neutral ground here, the statement was clear when it comes to the preferred spring palette: bright, saturated hues either monochromatically or colorblocked à la Tom Ford.

Mixed Prints: Known for being the city with an eccentric palette, London didn’t disappoint when it came to bold pattern play. From the overcharged florals set against polka dots at Mary Katrantzou to subtler, more casual variations like the patterned knits at Burberry, there was a range of day to evening fare for any occasion.

Pastel: Where New York opted for vibrant, saturated hues, London took a softer approach to color for spring with pastels and dusty tones. The romantic shades popped up at nearly every show, notably J.W. Anderson, Peter Pilotto and Emilia Wickstead.

Satin and Shine: Satin was the dominant fabric during the London shows for two great reasons. First, its sheen instantly elevates any silhouette; second, its inherent fluidity and lightness makes it comfortable to wear all night long. Designers from Christopher Kane to Roksanda opted for liquid evening gowns and dresses.

Fringe: The Italian runways were brimming with a quintessential celebratory element — made livelier with party pieces that can be shaken from dusk till dawn.

Japonica: Designers have long mined far-flung cultures for inspiration, this season landing in Japan with mandarin collars and kimono styles that featured prominently on the runways.

Tulle: It’s festive, it’s glamorous and it’s sheer! Tulle was the fabric of preference at the Milan shows.

Utilitarian: Multipockets and multizippers seemed fitting for the multi-hyphenate women of today.

Vince, a Billion-Dollar Brand Priming For Growth

Vince is the quietest billion-dollar brand in the business. Now, chief executive Jill Granoff is gearing up for global recognition.

Vince

NEW YORK, United States — “Customers are truly passionate about our product. That, at the end of the day, is the key to our success,” said Jill Granoff, chief executive of Vince, the advanced contemporary label, founded in 2002 and best known for its aspirational yet casual and accessibly-priced cashmere hoodies, sweaters and leather jackets. “The fundamental premise was to create a collection of iconic essentials that women would want to wear everyday — and I have to say, everyday is really key to the equation.”

The formula resonated immediately. Vince’s first collection attracted $9.5 million in orders, kicking off an impressive growth trajectory that would see the Los Angeles-based brand become a ubiquitous presence in top-tier department stores across the United States. Just over a decade later, Vince launched a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange which valued the company at $726 million, before an opening day surge in stock price turned Vince into a billion-dollar brand.

So how did a brand of accessibly-priced luxury basics spawn the biggest fashion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange since Michael Kors?

“I would say number one was product expansion,” said Granoff (who joined Vince in August 2012, five months before the brand’s founders, Rea Laccone and Christopher LaPolice, exited the company), looking back at the factors which catapulted Vince to success. “We had our core foundation with the knits and the sweaters, but really were able to expand to all product classifications that would address multiple-wear occasions.” Indeed, over the years, Vince methodically added trousers, dresses, denim, leather, hats, scarves, belts, women’s shoes (through a license with Brown Shoe) and, in 2007, menswear. “Two was rolling out and opening additional doors with our key department store partners,” continued Granoff. “And, three, before I got here, the founders did open [own] retail stores and launch a website.”

Today, Vince has a market capitalisation of $1.25 billion. But the company must now answer to the demands of the public market. How will Granoff maintain the kind of growth that Wall Street expects?

“The key in going public is building confidence in the company’s ability to deliver consistent, sustainable growth over time. Wall Street always likes to see that there are a number of different growth opportunities,” answered Granoff. “We knew that we had a foundation from a product perspective, but if you think about the business, it was really a US, wholesale-driven, women’s apparel business,” she added, indicating plenty of room for future growth.

Vince was largely built in department stores and expanding the company’s direct-to-consumer business presents a major opportunity for the brand. “This year, two years later, our wholesale business will be 75 percent of the total and our direct-to-consumer business will be 25 percent. Obviously, our wholesale business has continued to grow, but we are growing our direct-to-consumer business faster.” The brand now operates 28 retail stores and has invested in upgrading its e-commerce presence. “In all candour, it wasn’t a huge investment, but it really moved the needle. We still have a lot of opportunity on the website, so we will be enhancing it further. Our web sales will be probably quadruple from what they were when I joined, as a result of focusing on this channel and having the team in place,” said Granoff.

International Markets

As for international expansion, Granoff estimates that approximately two-thirds of its current distribution network remains US-based and “today less then 10 percent of our business is done in the international market, even though we sell to 48 countries,” leaving significant room for growth. “We have focus areas, including Hong Kong, [mainland] China, Western Europe and the Middle East. We are currently number one with Bloomingdales Dubai and Harvey Nichols Dubai and we have a lot of Middle Eastern tourists shopping our stores in the US, so we want to capitalise on the outsize growth we are seeing in the region, which is booming,” she said. The brand will soon open a Paris showroom and has signed on a director of European wholesale to drive expansion.

Brand Building

Brand building is another priority for Granoff. As a consequence of its focus on department stores, Vince’s brand awareness levels are relatively low. “We conducted some consumer research and what we identified was that we had pretty low brand awareness. Most of our competitors were significantly higher,” said Granoff. “But although our awareness levels were low, affinity and purchase intent were actually the highest of the entire competitive set, which said to say, those that know us, love us, wear us and want to buy us. That was really exciting,” she continued. “That we have such low awareness with such high affinity and purchasing intent means that if we can just build our awareness, we should really be able to expand Vince.”

“We will continue to invest in co-op advertising with department store partners, but in addition to that we are doing more retail lookbooks. We find a very high ROI on these. It showcases the product and the whole look and feel of the brand, which can then be put online. We are also investing more in digital marketing as we look to accelerate our e-commerce growth and outdoor advertising in select markets, as well as more ads in national print publications.”

“I think what is great is that we have been able to achieve the success without [high brand awareness], so in some ways, hopefully this becomes the icing on the cake — the cake always being the strength of our product assortment.”

Product Assortment

As Vince primes for continued growth, the brand’s assortment — the foundation of its success — is also set to expand. “We believe that Vince can grow 15 to 20 percent, top line, for the foreseeable future,” said Granoff, identifying two product categories she intends to push. Firstly, menswear: “Our business is about 85 percent women’s, 15 percent men’s; obviously, we feel the men’s penetration can be significantly higher than it is today as we begin to roll out additional product classifications and open [men’s] shops.”

Additionally, Vince is planning to push its footwear lines and expand its accessories business into handbags (which may, in turn, lead to small leather goods). “We see a sweet-spot between $500 and $1000; with designer bags the price has really escalated, they can be thousands of dollars now and, then, on the other side, we see the more mainstream brands offering bags below $500. We see a void in the market between those two price points.”

Last year, Granoff appointed Karin Gregersen — a 13-year veteran of Chloé with significant experience building successful handbag lines — to the position of president and chief creative officer. And, while it’s clear that Vince has several powerful levers for growth, it’s telling that Granoff’s six-point plan begins with product, which, ultimately, lies at the core of the company’s billion-dollar success.

New Years Eve 2017: The world celebrates the new year with a bang.

Revellers across the world are forgetting the turmoil of the past year to cheerfully welcome the 2018 to the sound of music and fireworks.The new year slowly crept in from the far east, kicking off first in Samoa and the Christmas Island in Australian territory.Bells have since rung across Hong Kong and other parts of China when the clocks struck midnight at 4pm UK time.

A mesmerising display of multi-coloured fireworks broke out over Victoria Harbour to the sound of Auld Lang Syne sung in English and Chinese.

In Beijing, a 7.8 km-long stretch known as ‘Beijing’s backbone’, brightly lit up all the way from Yongding Gate in the south all the way through the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.South Korea and Tokyo joined the loud celebrations when the clocks struck midnight at 3pm GMT.In Seoul, a dazzling show of fireworks burst out from the Lotte World Tower, where the official party will continue to rock into the morning.

Joining the celebration, party-goers in North Korean capital Pyongyang were pictured watching as the clocks struck midnight, followed by fireworks over the Juche Tower monument.

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Fireworks illuminate the city’s skyline during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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New Year’s Eve: Celebrations in Beijing sprung up outside the Forbidden City

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New Year’s Eve: Revellers in Tokyo, Japan, opted out for more traditional celebration

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New Year’s Eve: Australia celebrated with a colourful rainbow form Sydney Harbour Bridge

To the east in Japan, many locals joined the traditional Joya no Kane celebration which saw temples up and down the country ring their bells a total of 108 times.Meanwhile in Tokyo, residents of the metropolis celebrated out in the streets and clubs. Thousands of balloons were released from Tokyo Park and fireworks went off at the Sea Paradise Aquarium in Yokohama.The clocks in Australia and New Zealand chimed midnight at 1pm UK time, with jubilations erupting across Sydney and Auckland.

Around 1.6 million spectators gathered in Sydney Harbour to witness one of the most stunning pyrotechnic shows in the world.

The best fireworks displays in the world

The main highlight of the night involved a colourful rainbow of fireworks, lasers and light cascading down the side of Sydney Harbour Bridge to celebrate the legalisation of gay marriage this year.However it took over two hours for the whole of Australia to celebrate the new year, due to being caught in not one, but five different time zones.Meanwhile in New Zealand, fireworks lit up the Auckland and Wellington skyline as thousands lined the streets to usher in 2018.

Thailand overturned a ban on fireworks for a series of stunning New Year displays.

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Paris welcomed the New Year with a light and fireworks display on the city’s Arc de Triomphe

Hong Kong welcomes in 2018 with extravagant fireworks

India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan welcomed the new year a short while later, with millions coming out to see the fireworks in events across the region.Dubai’s New Year celebrations are renowned for their extravagance and this year was no exception.Thousands turned out to see the display, which featured around the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa – and included a light show, a firework display and even lasers!

Moscow and Ankara followed with some spectacular scenes in the Russian capital before a number of Eastern European countries, including Hungary, Greece and Ukraine, welcomed 2018.

Lights and fireworks lit up Paris’s Arc de Triomphe and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate as France and Germany also welcomed in the new year at 11pm UK GMT.

The London Eye erupted in fireworks after Big Ben struck midnight. The sky sparkled with colours of red, blue, pink and green in the city’s largest New Year’s Eve firework display ever.

New York City and the US East Coast celebrated the New Year with its famous ball drop in Times Square at 5am UK GMT.

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Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Angel de la Independencia in the New Year’s eve celebration

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Fireworks light up the sky during the new year celebrations at the Navy Pier, Chicago

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New Year’s Eve celebrations in San Francisco

Mexico City, Chicago and Guatemala City celebrated the New Year at 6am GMT, with revellers in Chicago having to layer up as it was the coldest New Year’s Eve in Chicago since 1969.

There was an official reading of zero degrees just as it hit midnight in the Windy City and thousands packed the Navy Pier for the big countdown.In Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas the New Year was celebrated at 8am, as security was tightened in Las Vegas following the deadliest shooting in modern US history just three months ago.

A fireworks display took off from the top of seven of the city’s world famous casino hotels, starting at the Stratosphere and continuing to Venetian, Treasure Island, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Aria and MGM Grand. More than 80,000 pyrotechnic firings that illuminated the sky in gold, red and green.

Hawaii was one among one of the last places to celebrate the New Year at 10am GMT, but it was the residents of Baker Island and Howland Island – the tiny outlying states in the US -which was the last place to celebrate the New Year at 12pm GMT – 12 hours after revellers celebrated the occasion in the UK.

Health Conditions

Lipedema: Believed to affect nearly one in nine women worldwide, this condition causes a woman’s hips and legs to accumulate excess fat that is extremely difficult to lose. It often also causes easy bruising and pain (4).

Hypothyroidism: Low levels of thyroid hormone lead to a slowdown in metabolism that can impede weight loss efforts (5).

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): This condition is characterized by insulin resistance and hormonally driven fat accumulation in the abdomen. It’s believed to affect up to 21% of reproductive-aged women (6).

Dieting and Weight Loss History

If you’ve lost and regained weight several times in the past, or yo-yo dieted, you’ve likely found it more challenging to lose weight with each subsequent attempt.

In fact, a woman with a long history of yo-yo dieting will tend to have greater difficulty losing weight than one whose weight has remained relatively constant.

Research has shown that this is mainly due to changes in fat storage that occur after periods of calorie deprivation.

Essentially, your body stores more fat when you begin eating more after a period of deprivation, so that it has a reserve available if calorie intake decreases again (7).

In addition, a recent animal study suggests that yo-yo dieting may cause an immune response in fat tissue that makes fat loss more difficult (8).

Gut bacteria may play a role too. Repeated cycles of losing and regaining weight seem to promote changes in gut bacteria that lead to increased weight gain over the long term (9).

Age

Aging presents many challenges for women, including making it harder than ever to lose weight.

Moreover, women who have never been heavy in the past may struggle to maintain their usual weight as they get older, even if they eat a healthy diet.

Most women gain about 5–15 pounds (2.3–6.8 kg) during the aging process due to a reduction in muscle mass and physical activity, which result in a slower metabolism.

Additionally, weight gain during menopause is extremely common due to the many hormonal changes that occur. Trying to lose weight during and after menopause can be incredibly difficult (10).

Gestational Influences

Unfortunately, your tendency to carry excess weight may be partly due to factors you have no control over.

One of these is genetics, but other, lesser-known factors include the conditions you were exposed to in the womb.

These include your mother’s diet and the amount of weight she gained during pregnancy.

Research has shown that women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to large babies who become overweight or obese during childhood or as adults (11, 12).

What’s more, a pregnant woman’s dietary choices may affect whether her child develops a weight problem in the future.

A recent animal study found that rats that were fed a “Western” diet while pregnant gave birth to babies that had slower metabolisms and that became obese at several points during their lifetimes (13).

Although your diet and exercise habits play a role in determining your weight, your basic shape and size are largely determined by your genes.

In fact, research suggests that both how much you weigh and where you tend to store fat are strongly influenced by your unique genetic pattern (14).

Taking steps to reduce belly fat is a healthy and worthwhile goal. On the other hand, if you try to force your body to conform to whatever size is currently in vogue, you’re working against nature, and your efforts may ultimately lead to frustration.

Throughout history, different body types and sizes have been considered “ideal.”

As recently as 100 years ago, being somewhat plump was a desirable, feminine trait in women. Thin women even tried to gain weight to become more appealing.

However, it is just as difficult for a naturally thin person to put on weight as it is for a naturally larger person to lose it.

During the Renaissance, Dutch artist Peter Paul Rubens became well known for his nude paintings of full-figured women, whom he believed were the epitome of beauty.

To this day, the term “Rubenesque” is used to describe a beautiful, full-figured person.

In the 1800s, the French Impressionists, including Monet, Renoir and Cézann, painted women of the day who were considered beautiful.

Looking at these paintings, you can easily see that many of the women were much larger than today’s runway models.

There’s no denying that the “ideal” female body has changed considerably over the past 60 years, becoming slim and toned as opposed to rounded and soft.

However, women of the past weren’t bombarded with often unattainable images on the Internet and TV.

Today’s women are also faced with an overwhelming number of ads for programs and products that promise to help them achieve today’s “ideal” body.

SUMMARY:During many periods in history, larger women were considered feminine and attractive. However, the modern “ideal” body is smaller, thin and toned, which may not be attainable for everyone

Different Cultural Views of Weight

Although people across the US and most of Europe consider a slim body to be attractive, people in various parts of the world prefer a larger, more rounded shape.

In many cultures, carrying some extra weight is associated with fertility, kindness, happiness, vitality and social harmony.

Interestingly, the wealthiest countries tend to value thinness, whereas the opposite is true in less wealthy countries (15).

For instance, researchers who studied data from several non-Western societies reported that 81% preferred plump or moderately fat women, while 90% preferred women with large hips and legs (16).

However, even among developed countries, what is considered the “perfect” body seems to vary greatly based on personal and regional preferences.

When 18 graphic designers from around the world were asked to modify a plus-size model’s body into the “ideal” body, the range of results was somewhat surprising.

The modified versions had body mass indexes (BMIs) ranging from only 17 in China to 25.5 in Spain, which is consistent with weights between 102–153 pounds (about 46–69 kg) for a woman who is 5’5″ (165 cm) tall.

With the exception of the BMI of 17, which is considered underweight, this shows that a wide range of body sizes and shapes are viewed as attractive and desirable, regardless of how closely they resemble what is often considered “ideal.”

SUMMARY:The “ideal” body varies greatly from country to country and is often influenced by a society’s wealth and the diversity of its residents.

Obesity, especially morbid obesity, may increase the risk of disease and lower life expectancy. Even further, it can make day-to-day living difficult due to decreased mobility, low energy levels and social stigma.

Here are a few additional practices that may help you take some weight off:

Support groups: Joining one can provide encouragement, accountability and motivation. In addition to general weight loss groups offline, online and on Facebook, you can find online communities for lipedema and PCOS.

Recognize progress, even if slow: Realize that you will likely lose weight slowly and experience some weight loss plateaus. Losing even a couple of pounds a month is still an impressive accomplishment.

Be realistic when setting a goal weight: Don’t strive to reach your “ideal” weight. Losing as little as 5% of your body weight has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, and further loss can lead to additional benefits (17).

Although incorporating these strategies into your life can’t guarantee that you will lose weight, they can help improve your chances.

SUMMARY:If being obese is affecting your health, mobility and quality of life, taking steps to lose weight is a good idea. Joining a support group, setting realistic goals and celebrating your progress may be helpful.

Shift Focus to Optimal Health — Not Weight Loss

For many women, weight loss goals have less to do with health than wanting to look better.

Perhaps you have already lost some weight, but haven’t been able to lose “those last 10–20 pounds.”

Or maybe you have always been a bit larger than average, but have been trying to slim down to a smaller dress size.

You’re not alone if you feel that you have tried every diet and weight loss recommendation, yet still haven’t been able to achieve results, despite your best efforts.

If that’s the case, it may be best to shift your focus to being as healthy, strong and vibrant as you can be.

Focus on fitness: When it comes to health, studies have shown that being fit is more important than being thin. What’s more, working out regularly can provide many other benefits (18).

Develop a better relationship with food: Rather than dieting, work on choosing nourishing foods, paying attention to hunger and fullness cues and learning to eat intuitively (19, 20).

Consider the results of your previous dieting attempts: Remember that losing and regaining weight often leads to increased fat storage and weight gain over time (1, 7, 21).

Aside from reducing stress and frustration, shifting your focus to make optimal health your primary goal might even potentially lead to natural weight loss over time.

SUMMARY:If you want to lose weight to look better, but haven’t had success despite doing all of the “right” things, it may be best to shift your focus. Instead of trying to achieve a certain weight, aim to be as healthy as possible.

Learn to Love and Accept Your Body

Developing an appreciation for your body can be beneficial for your health, happiness and outlook on life.

Research suggests that repeated weight loss attempts may not only lead to weight gain, but they may also cause mood changes and increase the risk of developing unhealthy behaviors like binge eating (22).

On the other hand, there’s evidence that being happy with your weight may result in healthier behaviors and better overall health, regardless of your size (23).

Here are some tips for learning how to love and accept your body:

Stop letting numbers define you: Instead of fixating on your weight, measurements or clothing size, think about how you feel, who you are and your purpose in life.

Avoid comparing yourself to others: Never compare your own body to someone else’s. You are unique and have many great qualities. Focus on being the best you can be.

Exercise to feel and perform better: Rather than working out frantically trying to burn calories, engage in physical activity because of the way it makes you feel. You deserve to feel your best now and in the years to come.

Realize that it may take some time to learn to appreciate your body after years of trying to change it. That’s understandable. Just take it one day at a time and do your best to focus on the positive.

SUMMARY:Rather than continuing to prioritize losing weight, learn to love and accept your body so you can stay healthy and highly functional throughout your lifetime.

The Bottom Line

In a modern-day society that values being thin, the inability to lose weight can be a source of frustration for many women.

And it’s true that losing excess weight is important when it jeopardizes your health and well-being.

But trying to achieve an unrealistic size can do more harm than good.

Learn to love and accept your body, exercise and adopt lifestyle behaviors to keep yourself as healthy as possible and avoid comparing yourself.

Doing so may greatly improve your overall health, self-esteem and quality of life.

A GUIDE TO ROLLING YOUR JEANS

Most jeans come with very long inseams, which mens you have to make a decision about how you’re going to wear them. There are several different ways to treat the hemline, each of which creates its own look and is best combined with certain fits, types of denim, and overall aesthetics.

Here’s a quick guide to some options that we recommend.

THE CLEAN FOLD

Sharp, strong, clean. Best for long jeans, crisp heavy denim, chunky footwear, and larger guys who need a lighter weight to anchor them down.

THE SLOPPY ROLL

Laidback, nonchalant, imperfect. Best for lightweight tapered denim and casual outfits that are thoughtfully put together but purposefully unkept.

A Great Boss is hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.

I lost one of my managers a couple of years ago and I can’t seem to forget him or the legacy he left behind. He was one of my earliest examples of true leadership. I often refer to him as “The Memorable Leader.”

I had a family emergency and before I could finish explaining to him the situation. He said, “And you are still standing here talking to me? Why aren’t you out the door yet? I’ll cover for you.” I smiled then went to my desk, took my belongings and left. Thereafter, he had my full commitment.

Here are five qualities of memorable leaders:

Integrity & Authenticity go hand in hand. Joseph was honest with employees even though this trait was sometimes unpopular with top management. He often took the slack for his team. If leadership is not authentic, then what is it?

Humility. True leaders always aim to serve rather than be served. Being humble makes you more approachable to your followers and allows you to create an environment of open communication and more effective feedback.

Empathy plays a critical role in one’s ability to be a successful leader. It sharpens your “people acumen” and allows leaders to develop and maintain relationships with those they lead. Leaders that possess this trait always make time for people.

Communication Skills – Great leaders are able to communicate their vision in such a way that motivates their team. They are great communicators; quick to listen and slow to speak. They possess high emotional intelligence (EI).

Inspirational- Joseph didn’t need a title to get us to complete tasks. He had our full support. Words such as “Good work team,” “You are the best”, “I trust your judgement” were at the top of his dictionary. Team spirit was high during his reign.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Managers are forgotten but true leaders live on in the hearts and minds of followers. Sometimes I can still picture Joseph walking through the office, greeting staff on mornings, and might even give me a little nod or pat on the back. Those were the special moments I still hold dear. It doesn’t take much to create those special moments with your team.

Good bosses are few and far in between, but if and when you get one, really appreciate them.

Check out my New Book

This book offers the most comprehensive view of what is taking place in the world of AI and emerging technologies, and gives valuable insights that will allow you to successfully navigate the tsunami of technology that is coming our way.

Virgil Abloh took the “people’s princess” to the street for his Spring 2018 runway show, just four weeks after the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. The collection was the most formal riff on streetwear Abloh has shown yet, and rightly so–given that it was inspired by an iconic royal wardrobe. Off-White’s designer and his team sorted through countless images of the princess, looking to reinvent her wardrobe for today’s fashion climate, and we spotted just the looks they sought inspiration from. Here, all the Off-White odes and updates to Princess Di’s best looks—and what Virgil Abloh would fill her closet with if she were with us and on the style circuit today.

1. Her Tartan Day Suits

Princess Diana often wore suiting to royal duties and daytime family affairs, but Off-White gave her ’80s suits an update with a more fitted silhouette, a cascading asymmetrical pleat, a wider windowpane plaid and gutsier extras.

3. Her Prim Cocktail Suits

Diana often wore pastel sets paired with pillboxes for cocktail attire, but Abloh imagined the modern day Diana sporting shorter hemlines—and tennis shoes for evening. For added je ne sais quoi, Off-White’s pink suit (and his pastel blue version, below) strutted the runway with a pair of heels in hand instead of a purse.

4. Her Polished Whites

Diana wore white for black die, daytime and casual weekend activities, but for Off-White’s finale, Virgil Abloh decked Naomi Campbell in an amazing ivory evening coat, paired with cycling shorts and a sexy lace-up, perspex-covered heel. This was Princess Di 2.0 at its finest, pairing her activewear with inspiration from her most stately of looks and daring accessories.

IMAXTREE; GETTY IMAGES

5. Her Bold-Toned Day Dresses

Diana wasn’t afraid of color—and it doesn’t seem the Off-White girl is afraid of much at all. For Spring 2018, a modern day Di wears these brightly-toned frocks with a strings of pearls and futuristic over-the-knee boots.

IMAXTREE; GETTY IMAGES

5. Her Ladylike Looks

Hemlines went higher, and in some cases, lower. Footwear went both super-sexy and easygoing athletic. For Virgil Abloh, a modern day Diana takes notes from her style heyday, and isn’t afraid to mix her easy weekend attire with her black tie wardrobe.

Negative Calorie Soup

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

CALORIES: 66

THEME: LOW-CALORIE

RATING:

This simple soup recipe is filled to the rim with negative calorie effect foods. Not only are the ingredients low in calories, but they help burn body fat. Try out this comforting vegetable soup to get your metabolism going.

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable stock

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup cauliflower floretts

1 cup green beans, cut into about 1 inch pieces

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 medium zucchini, diced (about 2 cups)

1 cup small turnip, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small jalapeno seeded and deveined, finely chopped

2 cups baby spinach

salt

pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, except the spinach, in a soup pot and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper if desired.

How to Eat Bread and Still Lose Weight

If you’ve ever gone on a diet, you know bread is usually on the list of foods you shouldn’t even think about eating. That’s because bread is generally perceived as fattening.

But if you’re like me, you don’t want to give up bread in order to be thin. I love to have a toasted slice topped with half a mashed avocado and a bit of garlic salt. So yummy! I eat that almost every day with either breakfast or lunch.

So what’s the trick to eating bread and not gaining weight?

You simply have to know which breads are best for weight loss. After all, not all breads are created equal. Research shows that refined, white-flour breads are associated with weight gain and belly fat—but whole grain breads can actually help with weight loss.

I’ll recommend specific breads for you to try, but before I do, here are some general guidelines that can be helpful for you, since different stores carry different brands.

How to Tell if a Bread is Good for Weight Loss

So, white bread is bad, and wheat bread is good, right? Well, not exactly, because wheat bread is just a misleading name for white bread. Instead of looking for something simply labeled1 “wheat,” you want to go for bread that is whole wheat or whole grain. White breads often try to masquerade as whole wheat or whole grain breads, so it’s easy to get fooled by brown tinted bags, pictures of waving wheat, or healthy-sounding words, like “natural” or “multigrain.”

Slick marketing tactics can make you think you’re buying something healthier than it really is. To make sure you don’t get tricked, here are some foolproof guidelines that will make you a savvy shopper for weight-loss-f3riendly breads:

The bread should say “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” (or both) on the front of the package.

One slice should have at least 3 grams of fiber.

One slice should have no more than 3 grams of sugar.

There should be no hydrogenated oils2, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners in the ingredient list.

Rounding off the top-three list, this bread has a number of things going for it:

There’s no misleading labeling. This bread is exactly what it says it is: 100 percent whole wheat flour.

Free of high fructose corn syrup, it stays within the guidelines of 3 grams of sugar (or less) per slice.

Each slice of bread has 3 grams of fiber—enough to rank as a gold-star weight-loss bread.

Other “Honorable Mention” Breads That Are Worth Trying

If you’re not able to find the breads listed above at your local grocery store, here are some honorable mentions you might want to try. Though much better than white breads, these brands have less fiber than the top three in the previous list, making them slightly less effective for weight loss.

How Much Bread Can I Eat and Still Lose Weight?

Remember, no matter what kind of bread you eat, you still don’t want to fill your plate with it. All bread, even whole grain bread, is a processed food, not a natural fiber food, like fruits, veggies or beans. That means bread should be limited to 25 percent of your plate.

We recommend having no more than one slice a day.

Since sandwiches generally require two slices of bread, we encourage you to give open-faced sandwiches a try.

Bread is Back on the Menu

You can enjoy bread and still lose weight, as long as you follow the simple guidelines above. I know it works, because I follow these guidelines myself. Most days of the week, I enjoy a slice of whole grain bread, while the rest of my plate is piled with scrumptious, satisfying, natural fiber foods.

No doubt, many other breads out there meet our best-breads criteria, but I couldn’t find them at our local grocery stores here in Ardmore, Oklahoma. So if you discover a winning bread in your neck of the woods, please share it with me. I know our readers will appreciate it as well.

An Analysis of Celebrities’ Street Style in New York City Versus Los Angeles

The two major cities that bookend the country—New York and Los Angeles—naturally, have a lot in common, like a regular influx of celebrities, foodie-attracting hot spots, and a bustling shopping scene. It’s why comparisons are always drawn between the two—and why a friendly ongoing rivalry exists as to which is better (it’s N.Y.C. all the way for us, but then again, we’re clearly biased).

So yes, while there are many similarities, New York and Los Angeles couldn’t be more different when it comes to style. Weather plays a role in dictating the clothes New Yorkers and Angelenos choose to wear, but the greatest factor is their attitude. In L.A., a laid-back, relaxed lifestyle takes priority, which sartorially manifests in easy boho-inspired dresses, leggings, and (lots of) sneakers, while in N.Y., the city’s fast-paced energy demands a degree of finesse, which comes to life in dressy, done-up separates.

To illustrate this point, we spotlighted five celebrities who lead the bicoastal life and drew up side-by-side comparisons. From Chrissy Teigen‘s black dresses to Kendall Jenner‘s crop tops, take a look at how their styles vary from coast to coast.

1. CHRISSY TEIGEN’S BLACK DRESSES

In N.Y.C., the expectant mom dressed her bump in streamlined separates, topping her curve-hugging LBD with a crushed velvet black blazer that gave her look a bump in sophistication. But in L.A., the model-turned-chef did away with the fitted silhouettes and went for an easy maxi dress, complete with a boho-inspired tasseled bag and strappy gladiator sandals.

SPLASH NEWS (2)

2. CHRISSY TEIGEN’S NEUTRAL COLORED SEPARATES

Same color palette, two very different looks. Teigen channeled her inner minimalist in New York in a fitted LWD and a subtly printed duster, complete with neutral sandals. But for a stroll through Beverly Hills, she took a relaxed approach, baring her bump in a sheer white crop top and distressed boyfriend jeans finished with neutral extras.

RAYMOND HALL/GC IMAGES; AKM-GSI

3. GIGI HADID’S SPORTY PIECES

A bicoastal lifestyle won’t stop this supermodel from sporting her preferred athleisure-centric off-duty uniform, but interestingly enough, her looks are markedly different on each coast. In N.Y., she dressed up red-hot lace-up skinnies (that hint at football uniforms) with a sweeping fiery coat and cut-out booties. A six-hour flight later, Hadid prioritized comfort with contrasting tracksuit separates and sneaks.

TEAM/GC IMAGES; BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES

4. GIGI HADID’S AVIATOR JACKETS

Hadid’s N.Y.C. ensemble, comprising a shearling-lined aviator jacket and high-waist jeans, may seem really casual at first glance, but next to her L.A. look, which features leggings as pants (a West Coast phenom), it suddenly looks so put-together.

JAMES DEVANEY/GC IMAGES; WENN.COM

5. JESSICA ALBA’S MOTO JACKETS

A moto jacket is just as much of a wardrobe essential in the east as it is in the west—a fact that Alba proved with her two looks. The key difference? Her styling. In N.Y., she took a chic tonal approach with a gray moto jacket over a silver lace Brock Collection dress with metallic accessories, while in L.A., she hardened bohemian florals with a leather jacket and moto boots.

LIAM GOODNER/PACIFIC COAST NEWS; FAMEFLYNET

6. JESSICA ALBA’S UTILITARIAN TOPPERS

Alba gave her army jacket a very N.Y.C. spin with a crisp button-down shirt underneath, leather skinnies, a structured tote, and orange suede pumps. But in L.A., she aimed for comfort with a ground-grazing T-shirt dress, a cross-body (to leave her hands free), and white velcro kicks.

MARC PIASECKI/GC IMAGES; BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES

7. KENDALL JENNER’S STRIPED FLARES

Jenner got her stripes right twice. She gave her inky flares a level of sophistication with a tucked-in shirt, a notched-lapel coat, and patent boots in N.Y. Her Los Angeles take? Flares in a lighter wash and styled with a sleeveless tee (casually half-tucked like so) and white sneakers.

MARC PIASECKI/GC IMAGES; GOTPAP/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES

8. KENDALL JENNER’S CROP TOPS

Her love for crop tops knows no bounds. The midriff-baring silhouette got the edgy cool-girl treatment in New York with a mix of trends and textures, like leather pants, a furry Givenchy tote, and slick midi boots. But in L.A., she showed off her supermodel abs in a cropped sweatshirt that she elevated with black dressy pants and python pumps.

SPLASH NEWS; VINCE FLORES/STARTRAKSPHOTO.COM

9. TAYLOR SWIFT’S ALL-BLACK NUMBERS

Swift struck an elegant note in a sleek one-piece with ladylike add-ons in N.Y.C. Across the country, she embraced the ’70s aesthetic with a cute black number and platform midi boots.

SPLASH NEWS; AKM-GSI

10. TAYLOR SWIFT’S ALL-WHITE OUTFITS

The pop star isn’t one to fear skin exposure, but in N.Y., she covered up in long white separates. On the opposite end of the country, though, she bared her midriff in a bandeau and crisp white suit separates.

The 10 Best Basketball Shoes – How to Find Your Perfect Pair

Picking your next pair of basketball shoes can be a pretty laborious process. Finding out about the latest releases, reading reviews, checking prices and getting the right size – it would often take me days or even weeks to settle on a new pair. Now, maybe I am just a lot pickier than most when it comes to basketball sneakers, but there is a reason why!

Good basketball shoes are important because:

They stick to the floor and allow quick cuts and crossovers

They provide impact protection to relieve the pressure on your knees and feet

They fit comfortably and ensure perfect lockdown

They support your feet and protect your ankles from rolling

In short: Good basketball shoes will help you to get the most out of your game!

In this article, I want to help you find the best possible basketball shoes for your style of game. I will show you which type of shoe is best for your position, how to pick out shoes with great traction and sufficient cushioning and how you can make sure to get the right size – even when ordering online. But first, let’s take a quick look at the top 10 basketball shoes which are currently on the market:

The list above shows the top 10 basketball shoes according to the most well-respected shoe reviewers on the web as of Nov 16, 2017.

I have created a large shoe database where every honest shoe review is recorded and used to calculate average overall ratings as well as scores for the traction, cushion and other characteristics of the shoes. You can see the complete list of all rated basketball shoes here. For this article, only shoes that got reviewed by at least 4 shoe critics were taken into consideration.

The list above is a great way to find basketball shoes that perform well overall, but not every basketball shoe will work the same for different types of players. Quick guards will need different shoes than big and heavy centers. But how do you know what kind of shoe you need? In the following paragraphs, I want to go into more detail and tell you what to look for to find your perfect fit!

How to find the best basketball shoe that fits your playing style

Let’s talk about the most important characteristics of basketball kicks and what you want to look for when you are in the market for a new pair:

Style of the silhouette

There are three different styles of basketball shoes out there: Low tops, mid tops, and high tops. Traditionally, basketball players used to play in high tops that completely covered the ankle of players, but nowadays, more and more players are wearing low-tops that look more like regular training shoes. Let’s take a closer look at each style and their pros and cons:

Low Tops:

These shoes provide maximum flexibility and are often very lightweight. Perfect for guards who don’t want to add unnecessary bulk to their feet, and want to feel light and quick on their feet. Bigger and slower guys don’t profit as much from low tops and might look for the protection of higher cut shoes.

The Kobe Line popularised Low Tops

Mid Tops:

Mid Tops are a hybrid between low- and high tops and provide a little bit of both worlds: Good flexibility and mobility, but also a decent amount of ankle protection and more stability. Perfect for forwards or wings who don’t need all the flexibility of a low top, but also don’t like the bulkiness of true high tops.

Mid Tops provide the best of two worlds

High Tops:

This is the way basketball shoes used to look like for decades. High Tops provide a lot of ankle protection, support and are often nicely cushioned. Perfect for big guys who are looking for maximum protection when they are fighting below the rim and don’t mind losing a little bit of flexibility in exchange for more safety.

High Tops are perfect for big guys

Traction

If you plan to do explosive crossovers and quick cuts you need a shoe that provides excellent traction. Nothing is more annoying than slipping out whenever you try to change directions or need to defend a shifty opponent.

The amount of traction provided by a shoe relies on two factors: the traction pattern and the rubber compound used in the outer sole.

Traction pattern:

A very popular traction pattern that is often used in basketball shoes is the “herringbone”. Zig-zag lines of rubber provide grip in every direction and the empty space in between the rubber makes sure that dust doesn’t stick to the surface of the sole.

Herringbone traction almost always works; unfortunately, other traction patterns are often hit or miss. Sometimes designers try to get too innovative or focus on storytelling, and you end up with a shoe that needs endless wiping or feels like playing on skates.

Herringbone traction pattern of the Kobe 8

Rubber Compound:

The quality of the rubber compound is much harder to judge than the traction pattern. Softer rubber will often work better indoors but attract a lot of dust, hard rubber is a lot more durable but doesn’t provide the same grip on pristine hardwood courts. As a rule of thumb, if you have the option between colorways with translucent and solid outer soles, always go with the solid option. A solid rubber outer sole might not look as nice, but if often performs much better especially on dusty courts.

​Cushion

The cushioning of a basketball shoe becomes more the important the heavier you are. If you are a 5’6″ guard who weighs 140 lbs, you won’t need a lot of cushioning, and you will probably prefer the responsiveness and court feel of a firmer setup. But bigger and heavier guys put a lot of pressure on their joints and profit immensely from a softer and more forgiving cushioning.

There are countless cushioning technologies on the market, and every company has different styles for different use cases or budgets. The most popular tech is probably Nike Zoom Air cushioning which consists of plastic bags filled with pressurized air that are embedded in the midsole. Other cushioning setups like Adidas Bounce, Nike Lunarlon or UnderArmour MicroG are foam based and provide impact protection by distributing impact forces more evenly.

Other than traction, cushioning really comes down to personal preference. If you are a quick and light guard, you want to look for a firm cushioning setup like Nike Lunarlon or Adidas Bounce. Cushioning that is too soft will only make you lose court feel and responsiveness.

However, if you are a bigger player or you have a history of knee problems, you will fair much better with a more comfortable cushioning like full-length Zoom Air or Adidas Boost.

Support

If you think of supportive basketball shoes, you probably imagine a bulky high top with a lot of straps and laces. Fortunately, modern basketball shoes have found other way to provides athletes with the necessary safety and stability. Just look at the shoes which are worn in the NBA today – a lot of players wear low tops that were unimaginable only 20 years ago.

A common support feature used in almost every modern basketball shoe is the outrigger. Usually placed on the lateral side of the shoe, this extension of the outer sole makes the base of the shoe wider and provides a stable base that protects your feet from rolling.

Other often used support features are midfoot shanks that provide torsional support and heel counters that lock you into the shoe. ​But one of the most significant support factors is the fit and lockdown of a shoe. All the support features in the world will not help you if you are sliding side-to-side on every cut because your sneakers are just too wide.

If you are recovering from an ankle injury and need even more support around the ankle, you should look into getting an additional ankle brace.

Fit​

The fit is one of the most important things to consider when buying new shoes. You want to be firmly locked in and not sliding left-to-right or front-to-back at all. If you can, it’s always a good idea to try shoes in a store. If that’s not an option, I like to get shoes in two different sizes, keep the better fitting pair and use the return policy for the other one.

If shoes are a little tight in the beginning that’s okay, they usually widen and become more comfortable as you break them in. If you are unsure which size to get, or you have unusually wide or narrow feet and you are looking for a particular fit, then check out this list of shoes. You can filter shoes to only include narrow-, or wide-fitting shoes, and find out which model runs large or small by reading the more detailed review.

​Materials

There is a wide variety of upper materials used in basketball shoes these days. From traditional nubuck leather, over synthetic mesh to high-tech textile materials like Adidas PrimeKnit or Nike Flyknit.

Cheaper materials like Mesh or other synthetic uppers often start out rather stiff and need a little time to break in. High-tech materials are often reserved for more expensive signature lines like Air Jordan’s or Kobes and are really soft and comfortable from the beginning.

Aside from aesthetics and comfort, modern materials used in basketball shoes all do a very nice job and don’t differ too much when it comes to performance. Just pick whatever material you personally prefer and can afford. ​

Now, that we have discussed what you want to look for when buying a new pair of sneakers, let’s see the best currently available basketball shoes ranked from top to bottom by average critic rating score.

A closer look at the top 10 Basketball Shoes

Succeeding the very successful and much beloved 2016 model is a difficult task, but the Crazy Explosive 2017 pulls it off! Reviewers love everything from the excellent (but slightly firmer) cushioning, to the premium materials, great fit and excellent support. The only slight negative is the stiffer upper that takes a while to break in but then becomes really comfortable. One of the best-reviewed shoes in 2017 so far!

The Adidas Dame 4, Damian Lillard’s latest signature sneaker, gets a lot of love from shoe critics. The cushioning is optimized for lighter guards and provides great court feel while still offering a decent amount of impact protection. The traction takes a little while to break in, but then it works really well – especially on clean courts. The fit of the Dame 4 is very snug and provides great lockdown and support, especially considering the extremely low silhouette of the shoe. If you are a quick guard and you are looking for a low-to-the-ground, responsive and light basketball shoe at an affordable price, then the Adidas Dame 4 is the perfect shoe for you!

The D Rose 8 is an amazing overall performer. It absolutely nails the two most important features of any basketball shoe: traction and support. The new “zipper” traction pattern provides beastly traction, even on dusty courts. Full-length Boost cushioning is perfectly balanced and provides a lot of impact protection while still being very responsive. The materials are rather basic and may look a little cheap, but they absolutely get the job done. If you are looking for a supportive high top with amazing traction and support then this is the shoe for you.

The Kobe AD NXT is a big upgrade over the disappointing Kobe AD. The biggest change is the completely new lacing system. Critics are split on whether it works or not. Some love it, some hate it. Overall, the Kobe AD NXT is a very good overall performer for quick guards. The only downside is the very expensive retail price of $200.

All critics agree that the Air Jordan 32 is a huge improvement over the disappointing Air Jordan 31. Reviewers (with one exception) praise the traction and love the premium materials. Segmented Zoom Air cushioning provides a low to the ground feel while still providing good bounce and impact protection. The new bootie-style upper fits very snug but tends to be a bit difficult to put on at first. Overall, Jordan Brand delivered a very good all-around performer that will work for all types of basketball players.

The KD9 is a clear step forward for the KD line. All reviewers highlight the good traction and the insanely comfortable cushioning. Some critics even feel that the cushioning is a little too much for a performance basketball sneaker. The one-piece bootie design is a pain to get into and the support features are minimal. Overall a very good performance sneaker that works for all types of basketball players.

The first release in Paul George’s signature line gets great reviews overall. All critics praise the very low list price of only $110. Other highlights are the excellent fit and high-quality materials. Great shoe for guards with regular or narrow feet. However, big guys with wide feet and a need for a lot of impact protection will probably not be happy with the Nike PG1.

The Adidas Dame 3 is uniformly praised for its Bounce cushioning and blade traction setup. The unique setup of the upper with many lacing holes to choose from allows you to customize the fit to your liking. Unfortunately, most critics had a hard time finding a comfortable fit. Complaints about heel slippage were common as well. Overall, this shoe is a great fit for players with a slightly wider foot (to prevent heel slippage) who look for a good overall performer at a fair price.

Under Armour is still relatively new to the basketball sneaker game but the Curry 3 is already seen as one of the most consistent and well-performing signature lines on the market. This shoe is optimized for Steph Curry’s style of play and gives you amazing traction and court feel for quick crossovers and cuts to the hoop. As Steph is rather light and doesn’t play above the rim, the cushioning is really firm and impact protection is minimal.

Reviewers really like the comfortable Flyknit material and the incredible (and very squeaky) traction. The only downside of the shoe is the completely new React cushioning which is not able to convince the critics. Many find it to be dead or lifeless and would prefer a traditional Nike Zoom cushioning. Outside of that, the shoe gets very good grades for its overall performance.

The Delhi government has suspended all civic construction projects as part of several emergency measures intended to help tackle the pollution crisis.

On Tuesday afternoon, city chiefs closed all public and private schools, requesting instead that the city’s tens of thousands of school-aged children remain indoors; on Wednesday, they banned incoming trucks and halted civil construction projects; while on Thursday, they announced new plans to begin implementing a partial ban on private car use as of next week.

But as the city woke up Friday to a fourth straight day of heavy pollution, practical considerations were being overtaken by more serious concerns, with journalists and doctors warning residents of the long-term health implications.

Air quality readings in the Indian capital have reached frightening levels in recent days, at one point topping the 1,000 mark on the US embassy air quality index. The World Health Organization considers anything above 25 to be unsafe.

That measure is based on the concentration of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, per cubic meter. The microscopic particles, which are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are considered particularly harmful because they are small enough to lodge deep into the lungs and pass into other organs, causing serious health risks.

Many Delhi commuters have taken to wearing protective masks.

Across the capital, doctors reported a surge in patients complaining of chest pain, breathlessness and burning eyes.

“The number of patients have increased obviously,” said Deepak Rosha, a pulmonologist at Apollo Hospital, one of the largest private hospitals in Delhi. “I don’t think it’s ever been so bad in Delhi. I’m very angry that we’ve had to come to this.”

A report by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur carried out in 2014 found that vehicle omissions accounted for 20% of Delhi’s annual PM2.5 levels.

Suffocating feeling

According to experts, Delhi pollution is made up of a combination of vehicle exhaust, smoke from garbage fires and crop burning, and road dust.

Writing on Twitter, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, described the city as “a gas chamber.“

Unsurprisingly, stores selling masks and air purifiers have reported a jump in sales, as many of the city’s wealthier residents look to mitigate the smog’s more harmful effects.

But outside on the city’s streets, the majority of people — unable to afford expensive preventive measures — are forced to endure the conditions as best they can.

Many of Delhi’s residents are either unaware of the dangers of breathing in polluted air, or are unable to afford masks and other protective measures.

“My eyes are tearing up from the smoke and I feel suffocated,” said college student Swati Kashyap, while waiting for her bus amid congested traffic.

Yogesh Kumar, a cab driver, spends his day in a car. As he speaks, he regularly pauses to cough. “My doctor told me twice to wear a pollution mask, but I didn’t,” he said.

Those who do cover their face are usually not wearing N95 grade masks, the standard for filtering out PM 2.5 particles. Most of the masks are makeshift — a kerchief tied over the mouth underneath a motorcycle helmet or a scarf tied over the head.

Toenail Soreness & Playing Basketball

by KAY IRELAND

Basketball requires quick stops and starts during the fast-paced game, requiring fancy footwork. Without the proper shoes, toenails are often a casualty of the game. To make matters worse, sore toenails could affect your game in the long run if you don’t have them treated and address their cause quickly. By understanding why your toenails are sore, you can remedy the problem quickly to get back on your game as soon as possible.

Symptoms

When your toenails are subjected to excess pressure during the game, you might find that they take on a blackened appearance. Some other common symptoms include tenderness when touched. Even if your toenails haven’t changed color, general tenderness and pain after a game isn’t a good sign, especially if it bothers you while playing or doesn’t subside quickly once you stop.

Cause

The most likely cause of your toenail pain when playing ball is poor shoe fit. When your shoes allow excess pressure to be placed on the toenails, you develop what is known as a subungual hematoma, or “black toe.” This is the result of excess pressure being placed on the tip of the large toenail, resulting in the accumulation of blood under the toenail and a darkened appearance. Ingrown toenails are also to blame, especially if tight basketball shoes force your toenail to grow improperly and into the skin.

Treatment

If you’re being affected with a subungual hematoma, see a podiatrist. A podiatrist has the tools to drain the blood from the toenail to improve its appearance and to relieve the swelling that contributes to overall tenderness. If an ingrown toenail is your problem, a trip to a doctor or podiatrist is also merited. Ingrown toenails are treated by cutting away the portion of toenail growing into the side of the nail bed so a healthier nail can grow in its place.

Prevention

Since shoe fit is typically the culprit for toenail pain during the game, it’s vital that you purchase your shoes properly. Start by visiting an athletic store specializing in basketball shoes. Go at the end of the day, when your feet are naturally swollen. Select a basketball shoe that offers good side foot support for lateral movement, but ensure that your toes don’t reach the edge of the shoe. Place your heel in the back of the shoe and select one with a half inch between your toe and the interior tip.

Before you play a game, keep your toenails properly groomed by clipping them so they don’t go past the tip of your toe. When clipping, cut straight across to prevent ingrown toenails from affecting your game.

The shocking truth behind Costco’s $5 rotisserie chicken

No trip to Costco is complete without eating your way through all the delicious samples and walking out with the retail chain&#39;s signature rotisserie chicken in hand.

No trip to Costco is complete without eating your way through all the delicious samples and walking out with the retail chain’s signature rotisserie chicken in hand.

With rotisserie chicken so succulent and savory, it’s no surprise that it’s a favorite for most people.

But why is it seemly so addictive?

Well, Dr. Oz wanted to find out and teamed up with food Journalist Mark Schatzker to do so. Schatzker revealed on the show that rotisserie chicken is often processed, meaning the bird is “pre-seasoned in factories” and then shipped to supermarkets where “an employee can put it on the skewer and cook it.”

RELATED: The best and worst Thanksgiving dishes for you:

The tender meat often contains several ingredients including sugar and salt — even going so far to compare it a potato chip. In addition, the skin is flavored with MSG, sugar and other natural flavors. This combination helps explain why we can’t have enough of the chicken.

However, despite exposing some truths about this dinner table favorite, Dr. Oz Says, that it may be “ one of the healthiest processed foods out there … and taking off the skin to keep it healthier.”

Is It Time For Tights? Julia Roberts Says Yes

“I WEAR tights all year round,” says Julia Roberts, in answer to the million denier question: when is it acceptable to fish the black opaques out from the depths of your drawers?

Roberts would say that. She has been the face – legs – of Calzedonia, the 30-year-old, billion-Euro Italian hosiery brand, for the past four years and was in Verona on Tuesday to promote her latest campaign for the company. Radiant at 49 (she looks about 30, and acts like it too), she was sporting a pair of metallic-flecked fishnets, paired with a black flip-hem skirt and a white blouse (she later changed into pink, with spot-patterned fishnets), and entered the room with a jovial holler of “Is everyone looking at my legs?”

We were. But mostly those fishnets. Brits have a complicated relationship with tights. It’s a love/hate yo-yo that makes Brad and Angelina’s divorce proceedings look civilised. For some, tights are a comfort blanket, an instant slim-fast for thighs and one that endorses a shorter hemline. For others they’re an inconvenience, just one ladder away from slattern. British women, in my experience, talk about tights the way the nation at large talks about the weather: endlessly and in excessive detail.

Forget about your views on Brexit: tights are the great litmus test of our times. Views on when it is acceptable to wear them indicate whether you take public transport or devote most of your income to Uber; whether you’ve just enjoyed a last minute window of sun in Pantelleria or maxed out your holiday allowance; whether you have 100k Instagram followers or 10. Bare legs can variously indicate wealth, fame, madness, youth (or an obsession with it), a healthy immune system, an allergy. Often their reception is city-specific. In London, in February, they’re scorned; in Newcastle, they’re a birth right. And in New York – where else? – the honeyed limbs skipping through the snow in this season’s Céline cone-heeled shoes confer status faster than the shoes themselves.

INDIGITAL

As August plunges into September and all hopes of an Indian summer look to be dashed, numerous British women are reaching for the comforting inkiness of 60 denier lycras. But don’t despair: view this knee-jerk reaction to autumn as an inspired head start on a key autumn/winter 2017 trend. At Balenciaga every single look came with tights (bar two pairs of trousers) – from the acid green and burgundy shades that recalled Jane Birkin gambolling around in the Sixties film Blow Up, to the lacy black fishnet-inspired styles that underscored the mini dresses and set off scarf-print shoes. At Céline, lacy crochet wool tights peeked out from bubble-hemmed jersey dresses, popping next to gold shoes. And at Mulberry there were thick, cosy, standard back-to-school fuzzy wool tights in sweet shop colours to offset chunky loafers.

INDIGITAL

Which brings us back to Roberts, wearing tights in Verona on a 30°C September day. The LA-based actress bears no resemblance to the Teflon New Yorker women for whom a polar vortex only provides yet another opportunity to show off freshly epilated shins. She’s enjoying a fanciful relationship with tights. “Maybe four years ago I was getting a little lazy about my fashion and this kind of brought me back into the fun of adding the element of tights. I was a victim of enjoying the bare legs and – no longer,” she laughs.

INDIGITAL

The prospect of turning 50 won’t affect her flirtation with fishnets. “It’s sort of a stereotype that women worry about getting older, or that men age better than women, so it’s kind of this made up thing that we perpetuate,” she says. “I am excited to turn 50 because… it’s gonna happen. I feel so happy with my life and where I’m at, it’s more about that than the number. I might wake up October 29 and weep but I doubt it. When you’re 50 how you feel is really just right there on your face.” And in her case, your legs. Consider yourself liberated.

10 Reasons Why High School Sports Benefit Students

Explore the many benefits high school sports offer to students, both during the secondary academic years and beyond.

Athletics have been a mainstay of the high school scene for decades. Today, the field has merely expanded, encompassing an even greater variety of competitive options for male and female students alike. While many students get involved in high school athleticsfor sheer love of the game, there are significant benefits from these extracurricular activities as well. We have 10 ways high school sports benefit students – some of which students and parents may not even realize.

Community Representation

While club sports have become a popular pastime for both students and college recruiters, there is still a lot to be said for playing for your high school team. According to Unigo, students who participate in high school sports learn the benefit of representing their community on the field or court. These athletes learn the fun of team rivalries and revel in the praise of a job well done for their school. This feeling of community and the honor of representing the home team may run over into college athletics if the student advances in his sport as well.

Fitness

The fitness level of athletes in high school sports programs cannot be underestimated. According to a report from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), a 2006 study on female athletes found that when female students are given more opportunity to participate in athletics in high school, their weight and body mass improve. A 2001 survey found that students agreed they would not spend as much time in sedentary activities like watching television and playing video games if they had other options after school.

Studies also suggest that student athletes are less likely to participate in unhealthy or risky behavior when they are playing sports in high school. The same report by the NFHS cited a 2002 study by the Department of Education that found students who spent no time in extracurricular activities in high school were 49 percent more likely to use drugs and 37 percent more apt to become teen parents. Just four hours in an extracurricular activity like sports each week dramatically improved those numbers.

Improved Academics

A survey conducted by the Minnesota State High School League in 2007 and reported by the NFHS found that the average GPA of a high school athlete was 2.84, while a student who was not involved in athletics had an average GPA of 2.68. The survey also showed that student athletes missed less school than their non-athlete counterparts, with a total of 7.4 days missed and 8.8 days missed, respectively.

Another study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise in August, 2007 found that students who were active in sports like soccer, football and even skateboarding performed 10 percent better in core subjects like math, science, social studies and language arts. Because sports offer equal opportunity to all students at the high school level, these academic benefits extend to all area of the student population, including students that might be traditionally underserved.

The Importance of the 3 “P’s”

An article at Education.com talks about the 3 “P’s” student athletes learn that extend beyond the classroom: persistence, patience and practice. Team members learn that practice is required, even when they would prefer to be spending time with friends. They learn the harder they work, the better they perform. They also discover that by never giving up, they are more likely to achieve their goals. These life lessons benefit students long after the high school years, helping them succeed in college and after.

Teamwork and Cooperation

An article at We Play Moms explains that because everyone is working toward a common goal in team sports, students learn firsthand how their performance impacts the rest of the team. Student athletes must find their place, whether it is to be a leader of the team or to play a supporting role.

Positive Mentors

High school athletics are filled with positive mentors, from the coaches on the sidelines to the leaders on the team. Students learn to work with a wide range of authority figures, who teach them important lessons about hard work, respect and good sportsmanship. Early experiences with mentors like these help shape student athletes in positive ways for the rest of their lives.

Social Relationships

Students who participate in sports often forge close friendships with others on the team. These relationships are essential for mental, emotional and physical health throughout the high school years. Students bond together over a common passion, and the time they spend together at practice and games builds tight bonds that often last long after high school is over.

Leadership Skills

As students advance through the ranks of the high school team, they learn valuable leadership skills. Senior athletes are expected to encourage younger team members and hold them accountable. They set an example and often provide advice and guidance both on and off the field.

Time Management

Practice and games take up plenty of a student’s time, leaving much less for school work and other activities. Athletes must learn time management skills if they are to get everything finished. One student athlete told Growing Up in Santa Cruz, “It definitely helps time management-wise. It affects when I have to do my schoolwork, and when I have to practice.

Success Mindset

We Play Moms outlines the mindset for success that is instilled in student athletes, which includes:

Time management skills

Creativity in finding ways to improve

Strong focus and concentration development

Internal skills for handling pressure

Learning when to take risks

Taking responsibility for individual performance

These skills go far beyond the sports field or even beyond high school. Student athletes reap the benefit of their training for the rest of their lives.

The 3-Piece Fall Workout Wardrobe

Yesterday we launched our 30-day fall wardrobe challenge in an effort to effortlessly revamp and refresh your style for the new season. While the monthlong style takeover provides new ideas for your office and weekend looks, it wouldn’t be a full fashion update without athleisure options. So today we’re shifting gears, focusing on your workout style, and offering the best workout clothes for fall 2017. To ensure your gym style is on point and on trend, we’re sharing the three key pieces you need to totally transform your athletic-wear selection this season.

How Much Fish Oil for Weight Loss?

by JILL CORLEONE, RDN, LD

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil supplements offer a number of health benefits. While they may help prevent accumulation of body fat and play a role in decreasing unhealthy belly fat, fish oil supplements may not be very effective at helping you lose weight. If you want to drop extra pounds, do what really works: Eat less and move more. Consult your doctor to discuss the best options for you when it comes to your weight and how fish oil supplements might help you in other ways.

Fish Oil and Weight Loss in Laboratory Research

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential, which means your body can’t make them and they must come from the food you eat. Most Americans don’t get enough of this essential fat in their diet, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

These essential fats may help improve the body’s ability to metabolize fat and prevent its accumulation, according to a 2009 report published in Clinical Science. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements also helped prevent obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet, according to a 2013 study published in Physiological Research. This study compared the effects of the same high-fat diet on body composition in mice, with or without omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. The mice supplemented with the essential fat have less body fat, better blood lipid levels — think cholesterol — and better blood sugars.

Does Fish Oil Help People Lose Weight?

While fish oil may help mice lose weight, it may not have the same effect on you. Fish oil supplementation didn’t help people lose weight, according to a 2015 PLOS One report. This meta-analysis, which looked at 21 separate studies, did find that supplementing with omega-3s may help prevent weight gain. Although more research is needed, the researchers found higher levels of omega-3s in normal-weight people than in obese people, and report it may be related to how omega-3s help the body break down fat.

Although the supplement didn’t seem to help with weight loss, the researchers noted a reduction in abdominal obesity in those taking fish oil. The type of belly fat called visceral fat is the worst, according to Harvard Health Publications, and linked to a number of health issues, including high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar.

Other Benefits of Fish Oil

In addition to possibly helping decrease belly fat, fish oil offers other health benefits. The essential fats help keep your heart beating at a steady rhythm, which may lower your risk of heart disease. It’s also been shown to improve blood pressure, lower triglyceride levels and reduce inflammation, which also improves heart health. Its anti-inflammatory effects may protect you from other illnesses, such as cancer and arthritis. Fish oil has been used as a form of treatment for people with rheumatoid arthritis, and may also benefit those with lupus and eczema by helping control symptoms. And omega-3s may offer some protection against the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

How Much Fish Oil?

If you’re thinking about a fish oil supplement, talk to your doctor about how much you should take. Do not take more than 3 grams a day, according to UMMC, because of concerns with increased bleeding, unless your doctor recommends it.

While supplements may be convenient, you can get fish oil, and its health benefits, by eating fish. The American Heart Association recommends two servings of omega-3 rich fish a week — such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and herring. But fish isn’t the only source of omega-3 fats. You can also get what you need from flaxseeds, soy foods and soy oil, walnuts and pumpkin seeds.

To determine this, researchers used two types of pesticides, the fungicide thiabendazole, and the insecticide phosmet. To conduct the study, they washed the apples using three methods: Tap water, a solution of baking soda and water, and a commercial bleach solution approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Results found the baking soda solution was the best option. After 12 minutes, 80% of thiabendazole was removed, while 96% of the phosmet was removed after 15 minutes. The thiabendazole was more difficult to remove because it was able to penetrate more deeply into the apple’s skin, the study found.

Diwali, the festival of lights, sees millions attend firework displays, prayers and celebratory events across the world every autumn.

Celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains for a variety of reasons, the main theme is the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.

Here we take a look at one of the most significant festivals in Indian culture.

What is Diwali?

READ MORE

Delhi’s Diwali fireworks bring record levels of pollution to city

Also known as Deepavali, a Sanskrit word meaning “rows of lighted lamps”, it is one of the most popular Hindu festivals celebrated across South Asia. But it is also celebrated by Jains and Sikhs.

The festival of lights that celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

It sees millions of earthenware oil lamps, called diyas, light up people’s homes, shops, public spaces and places of worship as part of celebrations which marks the start of the Hindu new year.

When is it celebrated?

Diwali falls between October and November, but the exact date changes each year as it is marked by the Hindu lunar calendar.

It lasts five days in total, with the festival of lights falling on the third days of celebrations, which is marked on the 15th day of the Hindu month Kartik.

This year that falls on 19 October.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan lights a ceremonial candle at the Diwali Festival at Trafalgar Square in London (AP)

What are the different legends being celebrated?

For many Hindus, Diwali celebrates the return of the deities Rama and his wife Sita to Ayodhya, an ancient Indian city believed to be the lord’s birthplace, following a 14-year period in exile and a battle fought by Rama and his army against the demon Ravana.

The demon had kidnapped Sita and Rama travelled along with Hanuman, the deity in the form of a monkey-man, to rescue her and kill the evil demons – as depicted in the epic “Ramayana”.

Their victorious return home was celebrated by lighting the kingdom with lamps.

Diwali also celebrates the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi. Some believes it falls on her birthday and the day she married Lord Vishnu.

Many in India leave their windows and doors open and light lamps to allow Lakshmi to find her way into their homes.

Dancers perform a traditional Indian dance during the Diwali festival of light celebrations, in Trafalgar Square (Reuters)

Many Sikhs celebrate the release of the sixth guru Hargobind Singh and 52 other princes from prison in 1619.

However Sikh celebrations for Diwali stretch further back than this date.

For Jains, it is a celebration of their Tirthankara, or spiritual leader, specifically their 24th of the current age, Tirthankar Mahavira, reached Moksha – the release from the death and rebirth cycle into infinite bliss and knowledge.

Fireworks fill the sky during the Diwali lights switch on in Leicester (Reuters)

How is it celebrated?

Diwali is part of a five day festival that is celebrated with music, lights, fireworks and sharing traditional sweets.

Many people prepare for the festival by cleaning and decorating their homes, and on the night of celebrations wear new clothes and take part in family puja, or prayers to Lakshmi.

Celebrations held across the UK included an annual festival in London’s Trafalgar Square presented by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

This had a programme of music and dance performances with traditional food available and activities such as yoga and henna.

Leicester’s celebrations, which are understood to be one of the biggest outside of India, saw 40,000 people turn up to watch the annual Diwali lights switch-on, with music and dancing held on the city’s Golden Mile.

HOW TO BUILD A MINIMALIST CAPSULE WARDROBE

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the number of little choices you have to make every day, you’re not alone. That exhaustion is a real thing called decision fatigue, and it’s scientifically proven to take a toll on your ability to make good choices by the end of the day. It’s one reason why a lot of important people — from Steve Jobs and Barack Obama to a whole host of fashion designers — have chosen to cut down on the number of decisions they make every day by wearing essentially the same thing over and over.

But for some fashion-lovers, uniform dressing can seem stifling. Luckily, there’s another alternative that allows for a little more play: capsule wardrobes.

Caroline Rector, the blogger behind Unfancy who helped re-popularize capsules in recent years, describes capsuling as “a practice of editing your wardrobe down to your favorite clothes (clothes that fit your lifestyle and body right now), remixing them regularly, and shopping less often and more intentionally.”

Usually, a capsule consists of a set number of pieces of clothing that you wear for a season before starting the next capsule. Clothing is only added to the selection at the start of each capsule, encouraging you to remix and re-wear rather than shopping for new pieces.

Operating with a capsule wardrobe reduces decision fatigue because it leaves only clothing you really love that works interchangeably in your wardrobe. It’s the minimalist principle of “less is more” lived out in a tangible way. But there are a host of other benefits to switching to the capsule model, too. Capsule fans claim the method can curb an out-of-control shopping habit, help you get to know your own style better, save closet space and boost environmental and social responsibility by reducing consumption.

Ready to build your own minimalist capsule wardrobe? Here’s how to start.

TAKE STOCK OF YOUR WARDROBE

You’re only going to be living with a set number of pieces for the next three months, so you want to make sure you pick those pieces mindfully. Doing that well requires taking a serious look at what’s already in your closet.

“If you’re going to give capsuling a shot, go all in. Literally empty your closet onto your bed, and only add back in the items you love,” advises Seasons + Salt blogger Andrea Hartman, who first started capsuling three years ago. “It will be eye-opening.”

It might seem like a lot of work, but laying everything in your wardrobe out where you can see it all at once is a good way to get a comprehensive view of what you own, connecting what works well together and noting what percentage of your possessions you actually wear regularly. You’ll also want to earmark any pieces that need mending before inclusion — if you adore those camel boots but the heel has started coming off, check whether it’s something that can be fixed or needs to be replaced before starting the capsule.

PICK WHAT’S GOING IN YOUR CAPSULE

Your capsule should have about 35 pieces including tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear and shoes. Items that should not be included in this number include loungewear, sleepwear, underwear, workout clothes you wear only for working out (as opposed to athleisure you might wear elsewhere) and accessories — those are all freebies.

If you’re not sure whether a specific item should count among your 35 or not, remember: pieces that are necessary for one occasion (like a gown for a fancy wedding) don’t count as long as you only wear them for that specific activity or event. So if you only wear your one-piece swimsuit to the beach, for example, it doesn’t count, but if you’re going to style it as a bodysuit with your normal clothes, it does.

As you consider what to include in your capsule, ask yourself: Can I style it multiple ways? Is it something I know I’ll actually wear based on a track record of wearing it in the past? Is it appropriate for the season and temperature? Is it well-made enough that I trust it to last through the next three months with repeated wear?

STORE EVERYTHING ELSE

Once you’ve selected your 35 or so capsule pieces, pack the rest of your clothing up and store it out of sight, if space permits. This will both make it easier for you to stick to your original capsule — no temptingly blurred lines — and will also help you figure out what pieces you might be able to purge at the end of the capsule. Did you totally forget about that tank top that you hid from sight, even though it was summer? That may be a sign that you can let go of it permanently, making for even less long-term clutter.

TRY IT FOR THREE MONTHS

Once you’ve picked your capsule and stored everything else, you’re ready to live in it. Wear only the pieces in your capsule (and the free-pass items like underwear and loungewear) for three months straight.

Some parts of this step will be easy, like picking outfits you’ve already loved in the past. But even if it gets hard, it’s worth sticking with the rules you gave yourself — not only will you learn more about what really works best for you, but you might also find yourself coming up with creative new ensembles you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. And if a little wardrobe boredom rears its head, don’t assume it means that capsuling isn’t for you.

“Boredom is normal in all parts of life,” notes Anne Sage, a blogger and authorknown for her minimal aesthetic. “So when it does come, rather than lamenting it, it’s good to learn to roll with it.” After all, why would you expect your wardrobes to be immune to a malady that the rest of your life isn’t?

A workout by Chris Freytag to try in your gym or at home if you own your own equipment.

3 Elliptical Workouts For Weight Loss

The elliptical machine is one of the best fitness inventions to come around in recent history. It’s got the sweet combination of allowing you to work as hard as you want while keeping it all completely low-impact. You will see everyone from serious athletes to those recovering from injuries on these machines, and for good reason: there are tons of benefits to elliptical workouts.

Benefits of Using The Elliptical

Gives you a low-impact cardio workout that’s easier on your joints

Accessible enough that all fitness levels can participate; even if you’re getting back into exercise after an injur

It’s clear we love elliptical workouts, but like any form of cardio, variety is the key to keeping it fresh and fun—and keeping your body challenged. You can’t just hop on the machine every day and go at a steady state expecting to lose weight, tone up, or change your body. Plus, we’ve been there/done that, and it gets BORING! Yes, the console probably has several elliptical workout programs for you to try, but if you are looking for something new or different, we’ve got three intense, calorie-burning workouts for you to choose from.

3 Elliptical Workouts For Weight Loss

In order to keep challenging you body (and prevent boredom) you simply need to vary your incline and your resistance. Almost all ellipticals offer a ramp or incline which simulates the sensation of going up a hill—this is the incline—and this helps work your glutes and legs. You can also up your resistance to increase your effort and calorie burn. And lastly, you can change what you’re doing on the elliptical by changing the direction you’re pedaling.

We’ve utilized these tactics to give you three interval-based, calorie-burning elliptical workouts to help you lose weight. These workouts are designed to make your elliptical time a little more interesting, and a little more challenging to work different muscle groups and keep you on your toes. Find the elliptical workout that matches your needs and timeframe below. They go from 15 minutes to 20 minutes and lastly, a 30-minute elliptical routine. Plus, we made all of the elliptical workouts printable! Just click on the workout, print and take it with you to the gym or your home machine.

Lunch Time Calorie Crunch Elliptical Workout

When you only have 15-minutes, you need an elliptical workout that gets your heart rate up and torches calories fast. Enter: Our Lunch Time Calorie Crunch. Changing up the resistance and incline often in this quick workout helps you make the most of your time. (By using varying inclines and resistance levels, you move your heart rate through different zones.) Plus, you’ll alternate between pedaling backwards and forwards which helps you work all your leg muscles in one workout. This 15-minute workout will let you get in and get out while burning calories in record time.

20-Minute Tabata Elliptical Workout

Have 20-minutes to spare? Then you’ll love this Tabata elliptical routine. This workout gives the elliptical a fresh spark using the tabata interval training technique. Tabata is a form of HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training. By going as hard as you can for 20 seconds and then resting for 10 seconds several times in a row, you keep your brain busy and your heart pumping. The incline remains 5.0 the entire workout, but the resistance and the pace or speed at which you push changes. So have fun and enjoy the ride!

Go Big Interval Challenge Elliptical Workout

This 30-minute interval challenge will rev your metabolism and make the time fly as you change your resistance and use speed intervals to crank up your metabolism. Pay attention to the column on the right that says “feeling” and adjust the speed you pedal to match that feeling. Try to vary the forward and backward motion between the intervals to keep all your leg muscles working evenly.

And that’s it! Try one of these interval-style elliptical workouts and let us know how you liked them. When you want to increase your calorie burn and decrease workout boredom, these can become your new best friends.

Naturally produced in our bodies, ubiquinol is an active form of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which has been shown to have quite powerful antioxidant potential. First discovered in the 1950s, CoQ10 is known to help many of the diseases associated with aging. CoQ10 can be found in foods such as meat and fish, although in very low amounts.

FROM THIS EPISODE:

In our practice, we have found clear benefits from ubiquinol supplements for issues of heart disease, blood pressure, gum and oral health, and even nervous system challenges. This article will discuss how ubiquinol may help our bodies, and what solid medical research has shown regarding the benefit of this supplement.

How Does Ubiquinol Work?

From moment to moment, we are burning energy and aging. As a result, free radicals are produced in our bodies which will damage all cells, including vessel walls, nerve tissue, and the linings of our organs. Additionally, environmental toxins that enter into our bodies can also cause damage and increase oxidant levels, allowing a further breakdown of our bodies’ cells and repair mechanisms.

Despite the aging process, every cell in the body is in the business of producing energy to keep you vital and healthy. The energy each cell produces is in the form of a molecule called ATP, which is made in the energy powerhouse of the cell known as the mitochondria. Ubiquinol has been shown to promote ATP production in the mitochondrial inner membrane.

Ubiquinol not only helps to support your body’s energy production, but it’s also considered one of the strongest antioxidants available. It has the ability to protect your body’s cells from damage caused by oxidative stress and free radicals. Ubiquinol sopps up the oxidants causing the damage; removing oxidant attack allows your body to repair and restore health.

Help for What Ages You

Ubiquinol is known already known to be helpful in neurological disease, liver dysfunction, renal disease and other diseases/conditions. We are going to focus on a few very common conditions in aging: heart disease, statin medication use, blood pressure problems, gum disease.

Heart Disease

Since the 1970s, clinical studies have shown that the oral administration of CoQ10 improves the health of patients suffering from heart problems.

An analysis of heart muscle tissue collected from patients with heart disease revealed a marked decrease in the tissue CoQ10 concentration.

It has been shown that patients with lower ubiquinol concentrations and decreases in ATP (energy) production in the heart muscle tissue suffered more severe types of heart disease than patients with higher levels of CoQ10.

Clinical trials of patients with a severe form of heart disease called congestive heart failure were given 580 mg per day of ubiquinone. These patients found significant increases in blood levels of CoQ10 levels, along with excellent improvements in the ejection fraction of the heart (the heart’s ability to move blood) and improvement of the left ventricle, the part of the heart that sends blood out to the body.

There is also some preliminary research evidence that suggests coenzyme Q10 may be helpful in cardiac arrhythmias, a type of heart issue where the heartbeat can become too fast or erratic.

Statin Medication Use

Statin medications are the number-one-selling medication in the world. While statin medications are reported to help avert cardiovascular problems like heart attacks by lowering LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, statin medications themselves are known to lower the levels of natural ubiquinol in the body and heart muscle.

One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed a 22% decrease in ubiquinol levels in patients using simvastatin (Zocor), while other studies suggest that statins can reduce serum levels of coenzyme Q10 by up to 40%. Long-term use of statin medications can increase risk of nerve damage and rhabdomyolsis (breakdown of muscle tissue). Since nerve and muscle tissue need plenty of ubiquinol and CoQ10 to keep up energy, it makes sense that this depletion could cause problems. Research already is mounting which suggests that ubiquinol supplementation could decrease muscle pain due to statin use. As such, we recommend anyone taking these medications should consider adding supplemental CoQ10 in the form of ubiquinol to their daily regimen.

Blood Pressure

Double-blind clinic research studies report that supplementation with forms of CoQ10 can help significantly decrease blood pressure in people who have hypertension. Most of this research supplemented 100 mg of regular ubiquinone form of CoQ10 per day for at least ten weeks. The authors of these studies have indicated that treatment with CoQ10 may lower blood pressure by decreasing oxidative stress and balancing insulin response in patients with known high blood pressure who are receiving conventional antihypertensive (anti-high blood pressure) medication. Insulin is a hormone known to regulate blood sugar and high insulin levels along with high blood pressure can raise the risk of heart attack by 20 times.

Saliva Production

Dry mouth is a condition in which salivary production in the mouth is greatly reduced. Besides making you feel thirsty, dry mouth can cause cavities, food intake and tasting problems, promote gum disease and cause mouth pain. For some, this condition can negatively alter a person’s quality of life in a profound way.

Medical studies suggest that an age-related decrease in energy production and ATP has been suggested to result in impaired salivary secretion. Some cases of dry mouth can be caused by an autoimmune issue called Sjogren’s Syndrome. But in many cases, it is unclear what is causing this problem. We do know that the incidence of dry mouth increases as we age, with a particularly high incidence among peri-menopausal women, which suggests that hormonal changes may play a role.

In one study, 66 patients were given either ubiquinol 100 mg/day or a placebo for 1 month, and found the supplement was able to find its way to the salivary gland and increase its levels in the gland helping to confer improved ability to produce saliva.

Gum Health

Like dry mouth, periodontal (gum) disease is a known cause of loss of quality of life, and has even been linked with higher levels of heart problems.

With regard to the effects of CoQ10 on gum health, one group of researchers reported that after patients took supplemental CoQ10, their levels of subgingival (under the gum) bacteria decreased. It seems that the CoQ10 helped the immune system strengthen so the body could fight off the bacteria more easily.

If CoQ10 Is Cheaper, Why Do I Need to Take Ubiquinol?

There are a few forms of CoQ10 out there. Regular CoQ10, which has been around the longest, is called “ubiquinone.” The form we have been referring to mostly in this article is called ubiquinol, and is the non-oxidized, active form of CoQ10 in the body. As demonstrated in studies, ubiquinol has superior bioavailability to ordinary ubiquinone, which means it gets absorbed into the body and blood stream much better.

Until recently, the only way to increase ubiquinol levels in the blood was for the body to convert it from ubiquinone (CoQ10), which research has shown becomes increasingly difficult as you age. While regular CoQ10 may be cheaper and will have some benefit, studies strongly suggest that ubiquinol is a more effective form to take.

Dosage and Safety

Various studies supplementing with ubiquinol will prescribe an average of anywhere between 50 mg per day up to 600 mg per day. Severe heart disease and severe neurological issues like Parkinson’s Disease may require the higher level dosages. Studies dosing from 300 mg to 1200 mg per day for 16 months of CoQ10 for four weeks have not shown any concerns of toxicity.

A Ubiquitous Conclusion

The word ubiquitous means “existing everywhere.” Ubiquinol is a molecule that plays an important energy and antioxidant role in every cell in our body. As naturopathic physicians, we want to stress that aging, heart disease, blood pressure and oral health challenges still require that you eat healthily, exercise, and work on lowering stress. No one supplement by itself can cure these challenging conditions. But for great support to help your body energize and balance against damage, ubiquinol can be a healing and solid part of your supplemental regimen.

Article written by Pina LoGiudice ND, LAc
Co-Medical Director of Inner Source Health in New York

Article written by Peter Bongiorno ND, LAc
Co-Medical Director of Inner Source Health in New York

Since coming back from England, I have been in the process of getting my son ready to move out and start his career as a University student. It has been stressful as (me being his mother) I do not want him to go through any hardship’s. While I want him to have the comforts of what he has at home I also want this to be a time for him to grow and become a responsible and well educated adult! As his parents, we want him to do well in his classes as well as having a good health and staying within his budget. Below are some tips from the National Health Service of the United Kingdom (NHS).

Your health, your choices

Student stress: self-help tips

Starting university can be a stressful experience. How you cope with the stress is the key to whether or not it develops into a health problem.

Stress is a natural feeling, designed to help you cope in challenging situations. In small amounts it’s good, because it pushes you to work hard and do your best, including in exams.

Leaving home to start your studies can involve some stressful changes. These might include moving to a new area, meeting new people and managing on a tight budget.

The article below holds true, as spinning has many benefits. Sunny and his wife Arosha have been attending spin class at their local gym and have had positive benefits such as relieving stress and no injury. Yeah! Sunny and Arosha keep up the good work!

The Benefits of a Spinning Workout

A spinning workoutis an excellent way to burn some calories and relieve stress. The workout employs a stationary bike, which has various tension levels. The bike will also track your progress, so that you are motivated to continue and accomplish your fitness goals. There are numerous benefits to a spinning workout.

Burn Calories

A spinning workout of 45 minutes may allow you to burn around 500 calories, which is a huge amount when compared to other types of workout. However, the amount of calories you burn will depend on the intensity of the workout. Adjust your bike according to the intensity you desire.

Build Muscle Tone

The spinning workout may help you build some muscle tone. The workout will focus on the core muscles, as well as the buttocks and thighs. You can increase and decrease the tension of the bike; this is similar to riding up and down a hill. While you pedal, you will work your thighs and calves. If you maintain the correctpositionon the bike, you will also work on your abdominal muscles. When you pedal faster, you are likely to burn fat. When you pedal slower and have a higher tension, you will work your muscles.

Increased Cardio Endurance

If you opt for regular spinning classes, you will build increased cardio endurance. This is beneficial, especially if you feel weaker and start panting even after an insignificant effort, such as climbing a flight of stairs.

Low Impact Exercise

A spinning workout is a low impact exercise. This means that it won’t put pressure on knees and joints, as other aerobic or running exercises do. The workout is also recommended for people that suffer from arthritis.

Relieve Stress

Any type of exercise is known to relieve stress. However, a spinning class can be a more efficient stress reliever than most types of exercise. This is due to the fact that the workout is intensive and it is a class where you can meet people and socialize.

Spinning classes are held by an instructor that will motivate you throughout the workout. In addition, there will be music, which will make the class more entertaining.

Reduced Risks of Injury

While running and jogging may present a high risk of injury, a spinning class is less likely to cause any injuries. However, it’s recommended to stretch prior to the class, so that you don’t pull any muscles.

Adjustable Tempo

The stationary bike will have adjustable tensions, which you can change during the class. Your trainer can indicate when to change the tension, or you can adjust it according to your abilities and fitness goals.

Track Your Progress

Most stationary bikes will have some devices which will track the amount of calories you burn, your mileage and even your pulse. This means that you can track your progress, which is also a motivating factor.

Can Be Done Year Round

Unlike other types of activities such as jogging, which can be unpleasant when performed during the months with extreme temperatures, a spinning class can be performed at any time during the year.

Amongst many athletes, amateur and professional alike, the concept of stretching has always been a nuisance. Stretching has in the past, been an afterthought for most people, believing the effectiveness of stretching was dubious. Today, the importance of stretching is well known, most professional sporting teams requiring their players to go through a variety of different stretches before and after the game. In all forms of exercise, stretching is the key to not only preventing injury, but also for increasing efficiency, be it being able to lift more, jump higher or run faster.

Stretching is so important, even dogs stretch! This includes my own dog, Versace, who is very cognizant of her health.

How jeans conquered the world

It’s difficult to find a garment as widely embraced, worn and loved the world over as jeans. The classic symbol of the American West is now a staple in wardrobes around the world. But why?

Cowboys may wear them but so do supermodels, farmers, presidents and housewives.

Ask any group of people why they wear jeans and you will get a range of answers. For some they’re comfortable, durable and easy – for others they’re sexy and cool. Jeans mean different things to different people. Does this explain their wide appeal?

It is a subject that is relatively unstudied, says anthropologist Danny Miller, whose book Blue Jeans will be published next month.

In every country he has visited – from the Philippines to Turkey, India and Brazil – Miller has stopped and counted the first 100 people to walk by, and in each he found that almost half the population wore jeans on any given day.

Jeans are everywhere, he says, with the exception of rural tracts of China and South Asia.

The secratt of them Pents is the Rivits that I put in those Pockots

Jacob Davis, tailor

The reason for their success has as much to do with their cultural meaning as their physical construction.

They were first designed as workwear for labourers on the farms and mines of America’s Western states in the late 19th Century.

When a Nevada tailor called Jacob Davis was asked to make a pair of sturdy trousers for a local woodcutter, he struck upon the idea of reinforcing them with rivets. They proved extremely durable and were soon in high demand.

Davis realised the potential of his product but couldn’t afford to patent it. He wrote to his fabric supplier, the San Francisco merchant, Levi Strauss, for help.

“The secratt of them Pents is the Rivits that I put in those Pockots,” he said. “I cannot make them up fast enough…My nabors are getting yealouse of these success.”

Levi’s, as the patented trousers became known, were made in two fabrics, cotton duck (similar to canvas) and denim.

“They found really early on that it was the denim version that would sell,” says Paul Trynka, author of Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks. Denim was more comfortable, softening with age, and its indigo dye gave it a unique character.

Indigo doesn’t penetrate the cotton yarn like other dyes but sits on the outside of each thread. These molecules chip off over time, causing the fabric to fade and wear in a unique way.

“Why did it sell?” asks Trynka. “Because the denim changed as it aged and the way it wore reflected people’s lives.”

Because of its fading quality, denim was sold raw – unwashed and untreated – and by the beginning of the 20th Century workers began to realise they could shrink the trousers to a more comfortable fit.

Not only were they more durable but each pair of jeans began to tell the story of the worker and his work.

Fell apart – after three years of hard wear

A 1920 letter in the Levi’s archive from miner Homer Campbell of Constellation, Arizona, describes how he wore his jeans every day for three years:

“Please find enclosed one pair of your overalls which I am sending you that the head of your fabric department may determine what is wrong. I purchased these from the Brayton Commercial Co of Wickenburg, Arizona, in the early part of 1917 and I have worn them every day except Sunday since that time and for some reason which I wish you would explain they have gone to pieces. I have worn nothing but Levi Strauss overalls for the past 30 years and this pair has not given me the service that I have got from some of your overalls in the past. I know that it is your aim to present a superior article on the market and consider it my duty to help you in any way I can. Please consider this and let me know if the fault is mine.”

“Jeans are the most personal thing you can wear,” says Miller. “They wear to the body.”

But the initial explosion of denim into the world of casualwear had more to do with what jeans had come to symbolise.

Down with denim

The Guardian’s Hadley Freeman predicted – or perhaps hoped – denim would meet its end five years ago in a piece for the BBC’s Magazine . An unofficial poll of our readers disagreed.

Before World War II jeans were only worn in America’s Western states. In the east they were synonymous with romantic notions of the cowboy – rugged, independent and American, but at the same time rural and working class.

Affluent easterners would escape humdrum suburban life to holiday on “dude ranches” – working farms where they could play at being cowboys – and wearing jeans was part of the experience.

“It was the kind of clothing that represented the American West and it was this cachet and this sort of magical thing,” says Lynn Downey, archivist and historian at Levi Strauss & Co. But back in Connecticut or New York, the jeans stayed in the closet.

When they did start to be worn as casual wear, it was a startling symbol of rebellion – the spirit captured by Marlon Brando in his 1953 film The Wild One and by James Dean two years later in Rebel Without a Cause.

“If you were a 15-year-old boy in 1953 you wanted to be Marlon Brando,” says Downey.

“Hollywood costume designers put all the bad boys in denim.”

Image captionLevi’s rivet patent expired in 1908 and other brands entered the market

Dean and Brando wore denim off-screen too. Both represented a subversive counter-culture – a group of young GIs just returned from war, who rode around the US on motorcycles instead of moving to the suburbs and having children.

“They freaked out the establishment in the United States because they were not conforming and they were wearing jeans,” says Downey.

They were soon banned in schools from coast to coast which only added to the fervour with which teenagers embraced them.

Outside America the trend was beginning to catch on too. Many of the GIs stationed in Europe and Japan during the war were working-class boys from the Western states. While off duty they wore their jeans proudly as a symbol of home.

The trousers represented an easier, happier American way of life, which Europeans wanted to buy into.

During the 1960s jeans had also spread to the American middle class. Protesting college students began wearing them as a token of solidarity with the working class – those most affected by racial discrimination and the war draft.

But jeans weren’t only a symbol of democratisation, they put different classes on a level playing field. They were affordable and hard-wearing, looked good worn as well as new, and didn’t have to be washed often or ironed at all. They conformed to the body in a way that matched even the most finely tailored clothes. This became especially important for women because then, as now, they paid more attention to fit.

This versatility, the ability to become all things to all people, is the secret to jeans’ survival as a clothing staple.

In the decades after World War II, every youth subculture – from rockabillies with their wide turn-ups, hippies with bell-bottoms and punks with orchestrated rips and tears – have put their stamp on jeans.

Deconstructed denim

Denim twill is made with two yarns – one dyed indigo, the other undyed. Indigo yarn is most visible on the outside, undyed yarn on the inside

Rivets reinforce the stitching

Jeans are made from dark “raw” denim, but most are washed or treated before sale

Over time, indigo dye rubs off

“It was an individualist uniform – which is an oxymoron – but that still does function today,” says Paul Trynka. “Jeans still have a badge of individuality even if you buy them off the rack.”

Today, jeans are mostly sold pre-shrunk and pre-worn. In his book, Miller argues they have become so mainstream that they are now a symbol of the ordinary, a garment people put on to feel comfortable and fit in.

“Jeans have become this neutral foundational garment. If you want to show you are relaxed, if you want to be relaxed, you wear jeans,” says Miller.

But Trynka believes there is still something in their symbol of youth, their ease and casualness, that puts jeans beyond the reach of certain people.

“Famously, George W Bush and Tony Blair went out on the street in denim during their first summit meeting. The statement was, ‘We are regular guys,’ but of course they both looked like dorks,” he says.

Jeans purists were offended by their pristine appearance. Many of them avoid washing their jeans for as long as possible – and it seems that the fabric may have some as yet unexplained capacity to stay clean.

What’s in a name?

Word denim comes from “de Nimes”, French town where the fabric was said to be first made – but American jeans were made with US denim

Jean is said to reference sailors from Genoa, Italy, who wore indigo-dyed clothes

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented their riveted design on 20 May 1873 – said to be the birth of jeans

But why 501? No-one knows – the answer may have been lost in a 1906 fire at Levi Strauss

Last year a microbiology student at the University of Alberta, Josh Le, wore the same pair of raw denim jeans for 15 months without washing them and then tested their bacterial content.

“This shows that, in this case at least, the bacteria growth is no higher if the jeans aren’t washed regularly,” said Rachel McQueen, a professor of textile science, who worked with Le on the informal scientific experiment.

But while different people wear jeans in different ways, the most traditional styles remain among the most popular.

“They’re simple, they’re not complicated,” says Downey of the original Levi’s 501 jean. “It’s just denim, thread and rivets.”

But unadorned denim is still special, says Trynka.

“It’s not just a three-dimensional material, it’s four-dimensional because it changes with time as well. The eternal appeal of jeans is just that they reflect us and they reflect the lives that we’ve had in them.”

My husband and I are currently in the market of buying a new house and is stressful but fun. The fun comes from finding the perfect home while the stress is finding the perfect home, that has everything we need. However, having a realtor has significantly dropped the amount of stress.

How buying a house is more stressful than bankruptcy, divorce and even the death of a loved-one, according to poll

Fears the deal could collapse and slow lawyers ranked worst stresses

Selling a property seen as more stressful than buying one, survey finds

But half of those polled said they had a stressful experience while buying

With prices rocketing, jitters about interest rates, and fears of an imminent collapse, there really has never been a more nail-biting time to dabble in the housing market.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that a new poll shows that buying a house is more stressful than bankruptcy, divorce or even bereavement.

The survey found that a large percentage of adults said getting involved with the property market is one of modern life’s most unpleasant experiences.

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People look at properties advertised in an estate agent’s window in London: Buying a house is more stressful than bankruptcy, divorce or even bereavement, making it one of life’s most unpleasant experiences, a poll says

Dealing with solicitors and paperwork for weeks on end, fears the deal could collapse at any moment and constantly chasing estate agents for updates was ranked as more traumatic than getting sacked.

In the list of the most stressful lifetime events, the research found the stress of selling a house came above the levels experienced when losing a job, becoming a parent or planning a wedding.

Solicitors bore the brunt of the discontent among those who took part in the study. They were labelled as the most stressful people to work with, while over a quarter had bad experiences with an estate agent.

The research also found people were more than twice as likely to feel selling a property was more stressful than buying one due to having to keep the house clean for constant viewings.

Prospective buyers cancelled viewings on a third of those trying to sell, while 42 per cent received derisory offers.

Over a quarter suffered from a lack of updates from the high street estate agents in the major bug-bears for those trying to sell their home.

Trying to get hold of solicitors in office hours also emerged as a major pain.

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For sale: Estate agents came off really badly – in fact when it comes to selling their home to potential buyers four in ten thought they could do a better job than an estate agent

A weary one in seven had seen a property move collapse because of a poor estate agent and the same number had pulled out of a deal because of their rising frustration levels.

And exactly half of those polled said they had a negative experience when buying a home.

The same number were convinced their property transaction would have been smoother if those involved (lawyers, lenders, estate agents) had communicated more efficiently.

THE 10 MOST STRESSFUL EXPERIENCES IN MODERN LIFE

1. Buying or selling a property

2. Relationship break-up/divorce

3. Being made redundant

4. Death of a grandparent

5. Getting the sack

6. Being in debt

7. Starting a new job

8. Becoming a parent for the first time

9. Planning a wedding

10. Going broke / bankrupt

THE 10 MOST STRESSFUL ASPECTS OF SELLING A PROPERTY

1. Slow solicitors

2. The risk of it falling through

3. The huge sums of money at stake

4. All the documentation to complete

5. Endless phone calls

6. The survey

7. Difficult vendors

8. Difficult estate agents

9. Being gazumped at the last minute

10. Disruption caused to your working day

A disgruntled 45 per cent thought their solicitor or conveyancer dragged their heels and seven in ten were hit with lengthy delays and unexpected frustrations in their last property transaction

Estate agents came off really badly – in fact when it comes to selling their home to potential buyers four in ten thought they could do a better job than an estate agent.

A spokesman for EstatesDirect.com, which commissioned the research, said: ‘The results show just how gruelling the process is regarded and clearly it’s viewed among the most stressful events we encounter in modern life.’

Dr Chopik, of Michigan State Uni, tracked the health of 2,000 couples

Someone who is upbeat is also more likely to eat regularly and sleep well

A miserable wife or gloomy husband won’t just get you down – they could also make you ill.

A study has shown that having a happy spouse increases a person’s own chances of good health.

On the flip side, a glum partner could make you unwell.

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A miserable wife or gloomy husband won’t just get you down – they could also make you ill (File photo)

Researcher Bill Chopik said: ‘Even if you’re the happiest person, your health can be dragged down by an unhappy spouse.’

Dr Chopik, of Michigan State University, tracked the health and happiness of almost 2,000 couples for six years.

The men and women, who were aged 50-plus, were asked how satisfied they were with their lives, as well as whether they suffered from diabetes or any other chronic diseases, how easy they found washing, dressing and other day to day tasks and how much they exercised.

Analysis showed that a partner’s happiness affected their other half’s health.

So, if a husband or wife was a cheerful sort, their spouse tended to be in better health – even if they were not particularly happy themselves.

Similarly, having a miserable spouse seemed to harm a partner’s health.

Dr Chopik said: ‘Participants with happy partners were significantly more likely to report better health, experience less physical impairment and exercise more frequently than participants with unhappy partners, even when accounting for the impact of their own happiness and other life circumstances.

‘None of these effects diminished over time suggesting that having a happy partner could afford surprisingly long-lasting effects on a person’s own health.’

Various studies have shown that happiness boosts a person’s own health but this research, published in the journal Health Psychology, takes the idea a step further by showing that one person’s happiness has a knock-on effect on another’ s health.

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A study has shown that having a happy spouse increases a person’s own chances of good health (File photo)

Possible reasons for the finding include a happy spouse being more attentive of their other half. They may also have the energy needed to motivate unhappy spouses to take better care of themselves.

Someone who is upbeat is also more likely to eat regularly and sleep well – healthy behaviours that could rub off on their husband or wife.

In contrast, a miserable atmosphere at home may up the odds of someone drinking or smoking, even if they are relatively happy themselves.

Dr Chopik said: ‘For better and for worse, daily life inevitably involves the presence of other people and happiness simply cannot exist in a vacuum.

‘Testing an older adult population affords insights for better understanding health trajectories in later years of life, when the average person’s health is particularly at risk.

‘Identifying novel factors that may enhance health at these stages is particularly valuable.

‘The presence of one person’s sickness may be subtly indicated by the absent smile of another.’

My son and I are currently getting ready to visit family in England. The stressful part of traveling is always “What Do I pack”? I usually overpack but we can only have 1 suitcase per person, so my son and I will have to pack light.

Read article below for tips for if you plan on vacationing this summer:

Summer can be a glorious time in England, with warm, sunny days, blue skies and English gardens in full bloom. But don’t count on it — summer can also be chilly, rainy and blustery. If you’re traveling to England during the summer, pack for the varied weather and be ready for anything.

English Weather

England is part of the island of Great Britain, and being surrounded by water helps keep the climate moderate. Summer temperatures average from a low in the mid-50s Fahrenheit to highs in the mid-70s, with an occasional heat wave. The farther north you go or the higher in elevation, the cooler it will be. Summer days are also long, with June sunrise in London as early as 4:30 a.m. and sunset as late as 9:30 p.m. Rain is always a possibility; the Lake District is the wettest region, while mountainous areas are more likely to be cloudy or foggy.

Women’s Clothing

Interchangeable separates in neutral colors are always a good choice, so pack basic black pants and another pair in navy, gray or khaki, as well as jeans for casual wear. Add a couple of casual tops and at least one dressy blouse. A lightweight sweater or fleece top for warmth comes in handy; you can wear either under your waterproof jacket or raincoat, which is an essential item to pack. If your raincoat is hooded, so much the better, as rainy days can also be windy; although a collapsible umbrella can come in handy, it can also be difficult to handle when the wind gusts. A pair of hiking boots you’ve already broken in or a dark pair of athletic shoes will keep you comfy if you’re doing a lot of walking. Add a pair of dressy flats or heels to go with a dress or a skirt that you can pair with your dressy blouse, and you’ll be ready for anything without having to drag a heavy suitcase after you. A scarf, a belt and some jewelry will allow you to change your look without adding bulk to your packing. Throw in a bathing suit — after all, it is summer.

Men’s Clothing

Men also need separates they can mix and match; a couple of pairs of dark slacks with some knit shirts will cover most needs. Jeans are perfectly acceptable for casual wear. Make sure you have at least one long-sleeved knit top to layer under a sweater or fleece top, and be sure to pack that raincoat. A dress shirt will serve for most occasions, but pack a sport coat if you’re going to be dining in fine restaurants — to some extent, the better you’re dressed, the better you’ll be treated. You’re unlikely to need a tie on vacation, but they’re small, so throw one in just in case. Hiking boots or dark athletic shoes will work for everyday use; add a pair of dress shoes, too. Bring your swim trunks, but stick with a shorts style rather than briefs.

Additional Considerations

A major consideration in determining what to wear is what you plan to be doing. Obviously, if you are going to England for a business meeting, you’ll need to bring your suit or other business attire. If you plan to spend time at the seaside, consider a lightweight coverup and some sturdy sandals — some beach areas are rocky, and you want to stay safe. Another good option for rain protection is a hat. If you’re going to stay for more than a few days but want to keep your luggage light, think about lightweight basics you can wash out and let dry overnight. If you know you’re a bit messy and will be eating on the go, a print or plaid shirt may help hide your slips. And, of course, don’t forget underwear, socks, nightwear and sunglasses.

Aishwarya Rai Weight Loss Diet and Workout Routine

Aishwarya has already stunned everyone with her sensuous, bold, seductress avatar in Karan Johar’s directorial venture ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.’ And now at Cannes Film Festival 2017, she has proved once again that she is the queen of Bollywood. From flying kisses to elegant poses, she looked every inch a royal princess. She got a very good response after this amazing body transformation. All thanks to Aishwarya Rai weight loss!

There was a time when Aishwarya Rai’s tremendous post pregnancy weight grabbed many eyeballs. She was criticized for her weight gain post baby but she chose to ignore the haters and prioritized her family and child over her looks.

Aishwarya Rai’s message on Motherhood

The Bachchan bahu spoke vastly about motherhood. She said, “I didn’t over think the fact that I had put on weight. I didn’t do anything as expected of someone who came with all the adages as me. There’s a lot of glamour and a lot of visual that is attached to me. But I stayed committed to my reality. If my body did go through this change, so be it. I didn’t play into the stereotype of what is possible. It’s an individual choice if people decide to go under the knife. I had access to that but I chose not to. I was genuinely comfortable in my skin and I got recognition along the way. Women who met me publicly, thanked me for the fact that I was giving them strength to be comfortable with the natural change. Hormonally anything can happen to a woman, your body can go through change and it’s important to remain comfortable and not let it affect you psychologically. My comfort and my conviction to just say true, in turn, gave strength to so many women. Suddenly, it’s okay to put on weight. It’s okay that your body changes physically from health reasons or otherwise and it’s okay to choose to dress the way you want to. I am happy with my weight and I love my daughter.”

Now, Aishwarya Rai is back with a bang. After widespread criticism over her baby fat, she has transformed herself. The celebrity mother has lost all the weight she gained during and after pregnancy and is looking fitter than ever. Take a look at her fairytale appearance at Cannes, 2017.

Spellbound! Isn’t she mesmerizing?But how did she manage to flaunt a slim, graceful figure with no remains of the pregnancy baggage? Let’s check out –

Aishwarya Rai’s weight loss DIET

BREAKFAST

Aishwarya Rai’s weight loss secret is that she never skips her breakfast. She starts her day with warm water, with lemon and honey in it. It is a great way to revive your metabolism.

In breakfast, she takes brown bread toast or a steaming bowl of freshly cooked oats. Oatmeal is considered a healthy whole grain and contains high levels of protein and fiber.

LUNCH

Her lunch normally consists of boiled vegetables which are easy to digest, full of nutrients, contains little or no fat and flavorful. Sometimes she also takes a bowl of dal as well as one chapati. Aishwarya says -“I can survive on dal, chawal and vegetables”.

DINNER

She prefers to eat very light for the dinner and eats a cup of brown rice and grilled fish. Brown rice has high fiber content and is more healthier than white rice. Thus helps in burning more fat and decreases the chances of overeating by satisfying the appetite. Grilled fish provides the required protein and omega 3 fatty acids.

Apart from this, Aishwarya keeps her portion in control and prefers smaller meals throughout the day. She strictly avoids any fatty, junk or fried foods. Instead prefers fruits, vegetables, and fresh juices. She keeps herself hydrated by having 8 glasses of water per day. She tries to maintain a fat-free diet which not only accentuates her figure but also brings a glow to her skin.

Aishwarya Rai weight loss WORKOUT ROUTINE

Aishwarya is not a regular gym going person and doesn’t follow any workout routine. In one of her interviews, she admitted that she was never serious about the workout and never worked hard to achieve a toned and lean figure. Actually, she never wanted a lean figure and feels happy in her curvaceous body. It seems her figure is all because of her good genes.

But if at any time she feels this need for the perfect body she attends gym twice a week. Aishwarya prefers yoga over workouts. She believes in the method of eating right and practicing yoga. According to her, yoga is the best way to keep the body powerful and so as flexible.

Spring/ Summer 2017 Shoe Trends

The spring/ summer 2017 shoe trends are as interesting as the rest of the amazing lineup we have been looking at over the past two months. From the different looks that were strutted down those runways in Paris, London, New York and Milan to the accessories and colors, along with the prints and materials, the spring 2017 fashion trends have definitely been a hit.

We have absolutely loved the shows that allowed you to see it and buy it now as well, something a few rather top designers had signed up for and one that we are very happy to see sweeping the industry. But more than anything else, it was the spring/ summer 2017 footwear trends that had us super excited, since they appeared in so many styles and brought back so many memories from days long gone. After all, it is not an everyday sight to have designer logos as the heels of your favorite pumps.

Spring 2017 shoes are cool and hip and sometimes even totally in line with the latest social trends as well, such as that Marc Jacobs Pokemon platform that brings the latest Pokemon Go fad to mind. We see such intriguing creations throughout that we cannot help but think that the shoes are what will make or break your wardrobe half the time at least during the spring of 2017.

They are colorful and interesting, creatively done and sometimes with a fairy tale twist, like the bright green stiletto body contouring boots at Balenciaga. We even saw crocs on the runways and it has thrown us for a spin!

The top spring/ summer 2017 shoe trends we discovered on the Fashion Week runways include but are not limited to:

#1: Platforms All Over

One of the top summer 2017 shoe trends to pull into focus is the platform trend, adding height and loveliness to just about any shoe that appears on the runways. We see them in breathable boots in monochromatic colors at Salvatore Ferragamo.

Erdem’s snakeskin combination with ankle lacing and gorgeous platform heels certainly gets us thinking about statement footwear to match with some of the plainer designer dresses we saw on those spectacular runway shows. Proenza Schouler, Miu Miu and so many more did awesome work in their adaptations of this particularly popular shoe style.

#2: Those Kitten Heels

There is nothing sexier than giving just a hint of something special, and kitten heels have long been that perfect little formula to add an arch without hurting the feet and create an air of adorable mystery. Whether those lovely spring 2017 footwear designs are branded steppers or strappy sandals worn with sheer tights, this is a look that most of the top designers have added to their repertoires.

Celine’s darling heels are way cool in and of themselves, worn with sheer stockings and adhering to the stocking with sandal trend as well. Dior’s got its logos shown strongly, while it’s all about the party in comfort at Miu Miu.

#3: Flatforms with Quirk

You know about the platforms, but how do you feel about the flat versions? With flatform heels and a flat sole, these are a platform and flats combination that took over the spring 2017 shoe trends throughout the Fashion Weeks. Brands really were not shy about flats it seems, and crazy prints with crazy embellishments were totally in.

Gucci’s Oriental designs and ankle straps were certainly something we could invest in. Flatforms with a shiny advantage are literally all glittered up at Balmain as well, giving the footwear all the height and none of the pitch we are used to with other heels.

#4: Thin Stilettos

Okay, we get it… this is a season of contrasts. If you can wear one style, you most certainly can wear the opposite. In the clothing that meant both shoulder pads and transparent materials, both miniskirts and long midis, etc.

In shoes, it means both the chunky awesomeness that provides comfort and the slim chicness that is all about the delicate femininity of the woman. It means open-toe sandals with stockings at Altuzarra and thigh-high boots that really hug the legs tight at Gucci and Balenciaga.

#5: Rounded Heels

There is just something about geometrically shaped heels that gets our blood boiling and seeing the spring 2017 footwear trends including the circular designs was certainly pleasantly surprising. It has appeared in previous seasons as well, but the trend combinations are what make them awesome here.

Color blocking with Jacquemus, for example, put the black, white and nude pieces that are all about chunky meets dainty at the top of the shopping list.

#6: Branded Footwear

The summer 2017 shoe trends would not be complete without the branding that has taken over the runways over the latest Fashion Week shows all over the world. We see cute little kitten heels with “J’ADIOR” straps on the Dior showcasing, while many others add their labels to the heels or all around the footwear they have their models’ feet clad in.

As for Saint Laurent, it appears that sometimes the heels are a great way to show off your logo and still appear as cool as possible.

#7: Sandals With Socks

This trend was all over the runways during the spring 2017 presentations at Fashion Week. We see all kinds of creations here, from Givenchy’s laced up yellow sandals worn with thick brown socks to a look that is entirely unexpected, creating a boot out of a synthetic sock-like material that is worn with strappy barely there stiletto sandals.

Celine’s funky slider and latex sock looks created sock boots that are simply to die for. We have to admit though, sometimes the stockings with sandals really was cool, especially when the stockings were graffiti tights and the sandals had some really funky heels as per Libertine’s imaginings brought to the New York runway.

#8: Socks and Boots

We see socks and sandals quite a bit, but it is the socks and boots that is the top trend to focus on here, whether as separates or fused together. There are some incredibly gorgeous pieces that really look so very lovely on the legs, emphasizing the best parts of the lower limbs and creating some intriguing textures with corresponding coloring.

Fendi’s very fall-like footwear is definitely at the top of the list here, whereas we see something that is less expected, with more loafer-like entirely synthetic shoes mixed in with over-the-knee sock-like additions that are totally a main part of the DKNY footwear masterpieces.

Western boots and colorful socks can also be paired together quite comfortably this spring if Anna Sui’s fashion sense is at all to be taken into consideration.

#9: Sheer Tights with Strappy Sandals

Sheer socks and tights are also in this season and we are wondering what to do with it. After all, it has been so taboo to wear them sheer with sandals for so long, it is strange to see this trend taking center stage.

Open toes and ankle straps are not only okay, but entirely recommended for the spring and summer of 2017! That was clearly seen at Celine, where banana yellow single-toe-strap and ankle-strap sandals were paired with sheer black stockings. Altuzarra’s red divinity also proves that stockings can be colorful and playful and also have dark toe covers. Who would have thought?

#10: Those Sock Boots

Okay, we saw boots with socks and some other funky designs, but this really does need its own category. It is a boot that literally looks like it is made from a sock in a shoe or something similar, it is a cozy trend and a sometimes rather not so pretty one as we noticed at Loewe. Fendi had some awesome athleisure though, and Dolce & Gabbana’s designs were super hot, black lace stilettoes and all.

#11: Shiny Shoe Goodness

We like to shine our boots and shoes and go out for the night or day all the time. But when that shine suddenly takes on a new meaning, it appears that it is a party day in and day out. Whether we are talking ruffles on pretty stilettos like with Saint Laurent or gold and silver disco-ready flatforms from Balmain, this is one spring/ summer 2017 shoe trend that we can really have a lot of fun with, especially if we make the shoes the statement of the outfit for the day.

#12: Breathable Footwear

We see a lot of boots and shoes especially that allow for breathing room with holes all over or a mesh creation. We even see Crocs throughout the weeks with their holes that allow the feet to really let the air in. Salvatore Ferragamo brought in the monochromatic color trend along with the breathable boots, while black lace sock boots came into effect on the Dolce & Gabbana runway, looking totally fabulous.

#13: Tying/ Strapping Round the Ankles

It appears that the ankles are a great part of the body to emphasize come spring 2017. Whether we are looking at thick wraparounds in leather or thicker single straps in snakeskin, we see many top designers creating their masterpieces in a way that both shows off skin and covers beautifully, sometime chunky, sometimes dainty, but very often bringing the gaze to that slimmest part of the legs.

House of Holland’s panel play and gingham designs are really cool, the looks made light and springy and entirely perfect with this ankle strapped trend. From the ruffles of Saint Laurent to the buckles of Attico, the wrapping around the ankle trend is as huge as it can get.

#14: Laced up and Bound

We get to see a whole lot of spring/ summer 2017 shoe trends, where the shoes are laced up either tightly or showing whatever is underneath, worn with socks and stockings and open backs or simply looking awesome in the sandals or boots sections. Givenchy gives us some intriguing designs to choose from, while it was all about the athletic boots come Dior’s sexy presentations.

As for Versace, it is athleisure at its finest, with a whole lot of fashionable heel options, the colors of the boot laces matching the clothing and handbags perfectly. As for the Western trend that was huge for the spring as well, there are some boots to match it, with J.W. Anderson offering us a range of mid-calf laced up boots in suede and leather.

#15: Open Back Footwear

Whether as part of the chunky collections with ankle straps that are nice and thick, or with thin strands around that slender area and riddled with colors and patterns, the open back footwear is totally in and we are not just talking mules either, though those certainly do make an appearance.

Givenchy gives the trend a whole new look really with laced up mules that sport kitten heels and are worn with thick socks underneath. Pretty snazzy, if you ask me.

#16: The Bane of the “Ugly” Shoes

What makes a shoe ugly? That is hard to say and is entirely subjective, but many have called Crocs and Uggs utter abominations, despite them being some of the most comfortable footwear on the market.

It creates strong emotions for or against really, and seeing the Crocs at Christopher Kane or the Uggs at Preen definitely has us either thanking or cursing the designers. No matter what one thinks about these “ugly” creations, they are in style, they are going to be on the streets, and it is just best to embrace it all.

#17: Making the Varsity Team

Athletic inspirations have been huge all across the runway trends, from the clothing to the accessories and most especially the spring/ summer 2017 shoe trends. It is an unexpected footwear option but one which we certainly can enjoy to the maximum. Whether we are looking at boxer boots or built-in socks, the season is calling for sneakers.

White boots that go up to the knees, all laced up, appear at Dior in a lovely manner, whereas DKNY makes athleisure look so very comfortable that fashion has met its match. Fendi’s sock and boot combination is by far one of our very favorites though, even if we think this would totally look better as part of the Christmas trends as opposed to the spring of 2017.

The white sneakers in general caught peoples’ attention and have been given their own category time and again. Tommy Hilfiger has some pretty awesome pieces in this style along with Bands of Outsiders and Lacoste.

#18: Leather for Warm Weather

Vibrant shades are a common look for the spring 2017 shoe trends, and it is the leather boots from the winter season that seem to make a very pronounced appearance on the Fashion Week runways.

Whether we are looking at the square toes of Balenciaga, or the rounded versions in orange coming up to the ankles at Celine, warm weather boots are a real thing and the colors are what make them so attractive for the average fashion lover. Honestly, near all the boots, and there were quite a few, were leather designed and meant to keep you fashionably warm.

#19: Skinning Snakes

There is a rather intriguing spring 2017 footwear trend out there and it has everything to do with snakeskin. Really interesting creations have been brought to the Fashion Week runways as such, including some crazy picks from Marc Jacobs and some half and half looks as per Louis Vuitton, appearing very tastefully to mix green snakeskin across the back of the foot with nude triangle toe leather over the front.

Snakeskin and rivets looks pretty amazing at 3.1 Phillip Lim in the bootie section, while Rodarte’s panel play on the boots was more than appealing, with the combination of simple leather and snakeskin.

#20: Shoes with Funky Heels

Non-geometric designs are a common theme to shoes during every Fashion Week and it was no less a trend during the spring 2017 offerings. Loewe rather enjoys playing with the heels it appears and it was cool to see the slight swirls there.

It got totally Western when we consider the Alexander McQueen shiny chrome additions with rivets, as well as the slightly askew totally square appearing heels at J.W. Anderson. Saint Laurent had heels made out in the brand’s logo that looked pretty rad as well.

And if anyone is into circular kitten heels with ribbons and open toes, Dries Van Noten has the right fit, or not, for you. Hood by Air even had heels that imitated the actual shoes, while Kenzo brought springs to barely there red strappy sandals. As for having wales on the heels, we can thank Thom Browne for that.

#21: Thigh-High Boots

Thigh highs were not as common as we would have thought when it comes to the spring/ summer 2017 shoe trends, but the body contouring style of some of the pieces, particularly seen at Gucci and Balenciaga were certainly something to catch the eyes. They were sexy and like second skins, seen in spandex and patent leather, the latex culture gaining new right out of them. Really, it was quite intriguing and way too beautiful to pass up.

#22: Slider Comfort Fantasy

Flip-flops were once a huge thing on the streets, particularly in the ‘90s. Now, we have some funky sliders appearing instead, something we noticed last spring as well. They are flats with a laid back presentation and updated for the summer with sequins and floral designs.

Prada, Lanvin, Dolce & Gabbana, as well as Miu Miu have all joined the fantasy slider club and it’s so dang comfortable. One of our favorite slider looks though came from Tory Burchand it was a pearly creation that was so dearly feminine we could not look away.

#23: Bows, Feathers, Ruffles and Ribbons

Shiny and ruffled would not be the first choice of embellishment that we would pick for the spring/ summer 2017 shoes, but Saint Laurent certainly makes good use of the eccentricity of the style on simple stiletto ankle-bound shoes in black that make the legs look gorgeous.

The ruffles on footwear design actually appears multiple times on different shows throughout the Fashion Weeks, landing it among the top summer 2017 shoe trends. We get to see bows and ribbons all around as well, with some very lovely footwear creations, such as the comfortable looking flower embellished Dries Van Noten shoes or the feathery creations that almost look like home slippers at Anna Sui.

#24: Footwear for the Future

We saw some really futuristic boots as well on the runways, to match with the futuristic clothing designs that were ample. Storm troopers and space warriors were rather a common look it appears, with Chanel channeling the inner Star Wars fighter, Louis Vuitton focusing on the half leather and half reptile creations, and Dior delving into futuristic silver athleisure.

#25: Oriental Inspirations

Chinese and Japanese inspirations came to the spring/ summer 2017 shoes and sandals throughout the Fashion Week shows around the world, from strappy traditional-meets-flatform looks at Gucci to the totally synthetic comfort flatforms at Prada and the shiny version with ankle straps at Versace. The neo-geta sandals were great reinterpretations and spotted on catwalks everywhere.

#26: Moroccan Slippers

Also known as Babouche slippers, there were a whole lot of the flat grandmother style pieces that brought the Middle East to mind. It is a minimalist version this time around though and over appeared in color blocks or simple black, seen beautifully covering the feet at Narciso Rodriguez, showing off the heels at Dior and offering a bit of toe cleavage at Haider Ackermann as well.

They are quite lovely to wear out when you want to keep your height low, and totally comfortable to be getting your daily chores done while feeling like a mature woman.

Kim Kardashian on Her New Beauty Line and Those Blackface Allegations

By BEE SHAPIRO

Photo

Kim Kardashian West at the Forbes Women’s Summit in New York earlier this month. On Wednesday, she will introduce her new cosmetics line, KKW Beauty.CreditAngela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

When it comes to beauty influencers, Kim Kardashian West can be credited as a pioneer. With her longtime makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic, she lauded the benefits of contouring (that old-school stage-makeup method of using darker base shades or bronzer to chisel and define features) early on. But unlike her half sister Kylie Jenner, whose Kylie Cosmetics line had its debut two years ago and has enjoyed booming success, Ms. Kardashian held herself apart from the legions of social media tastemakers turned solo makeup entrepreneurs — until now.

On Wednesday, Ms. Kardashian will introduce KKW Beauty with one product: perhaps unsurprisingly, the Crème Contour and Highlight Kit, with a contour stick, a highlighter stick and a brush/sponge, all with dual ends. It will be sold exclusively at KKWBeauty.com in four shades for $48 each.

Though Ms. Kardashian is no stranger to beauty brand extensions — she has her own fragrance line, and she and her sisters licensed their name for Kardashian Beauty and Kardashian Tan — this is the first time she has had full control over all the particulars, including product, packaging and image. Further, she intends the business to become a full-blown line, with several products already in the pipeline.

The rollout has not come off without a hitch, however. Last week, Ms. Kardashian posted a promotional image of herself on Twitter, in a cream-colored bra top and high ponytail, looking very contoured and very, very tan, prompting allegations that she had darkened her skin. Or, to put it more bluntly, that she was essentially wearing blackface.

Photo

Ms. Kardashian will introduce her line with one product, the Crème Contour and Highlight Kit.CreditBen Hasset

But certainly no one is betting against Ms. Kardashian, who has proved adept at capitalizing on controversy in the past. Here, she responds to the blackface Twitter storm and explains how her own beauty evolution is reflected in KKW Beauty.

You’re not the first social media star to start her own line. Why were you slower to the game?

I had a line with my sisters, and we were in a licensing deal and a partnership, and it took time to get out of that. Right after, I said, “Hey guys, I want to do something on my own.” Kylie had just started her lip kits, my mom and Kylie had found a really great business model and found great partners. I learned so much from them.

Does that mean you’re going to work with the same manufacturer as Kylie?

Yes, I’m working with the same manufacturer. I’ve had a relationship with them for a while actually. But the lines, they’re totally separate. We don’t really talk to each other about what we’re doing and what our formulas are.

Mario, your makeup artist, recently signed on with Laura Mercier. With the introduction of your line, will you continue to work together?

Mario and I, we’re like family. We started in this together. We are so close that no matter what, we will always get advice from each other. I literally FaceTimed him at 2 a.m. the other day with a million swatches on my face. I was like, “I can’t decide which swatch and what shade this product should be,” and he told me which was best.

You two have been moving toward a more natural look, with less contour.

Yes, but I’ve always stayed true to contour. I’d say that for the past six months, I haven’t been wearing much makeup, but I try to have a little bit of a bronzy look that’s really beautiful and really creamy-looking. That’s why the sticks are cream. There’s no setting powder. But you can make it a heavier contour by adding a setting powder on top of the cream contour.

Why did you move to a more low-maintenance look?

Having kids really changes it up.

A lot of the social media-driven brands are targeting a younger shopper — more a 20-something millennial — but perhaps the quality of the product isn’t there. Being a mom, and being in your 30s, what’s your focus going to be?

When we get to my concealers, I’ll have anti-aging formulas. That’s really important to me — and, of course, the quality. In the beginning, this line will really be about all the correcting and perfecting tricks I’ve learned. There’s the cream contour. There will also be powder contour and undereye concealer. I’ve always had dark undereye circles from being Armenian. These are the things I feel like I’ve really perfected.

Definitely that’s part of your image. Speaking of image, tell me about your side to the blackface controversy.

I would obviously never want to offend anyone. I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off. But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.

Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away. Definitely I have learned from it.

Advice for graduating high school seniors: Don’t romanticize college

May 1st is the day that graduating high school seniors who have been accepted to college and who have a choice to make are supposed to commit to a school. For those students who think their life depends on the choice they make, here is some advice from a college admission counselor who has worked for years helping students apply to and choose colleges. He is Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling at the Derryfield School, a private college preparatory day school for grades 6-12 in Manchester, N.H.

By Brennan Barnard

We’ve all been there — love at first sight; eyes locking from across the room, that familiar rush of warmth and dizziness, the skies that suddenly seem that much brighter. It is tricky enough when our infatuation leads to unrealistic ideals of perfection in a partner, but it’s downright dangerous when we fall in love with a college this way. For high school students this idealism is quite common as they develop romanticized expectations of the perfect school.

In my job as a high school college counselor, I see this same dynamic play out every year. Students have spent considerable energy and emotion on pinning, planning and applying to college. For some it has been years of allowing college admission to dictate choices and rule the day. They have gone to great lengths to master tests, stretch themselves academically and exhaust themselves with extracurricular involvement with the goal of impressing admission committees.

After all of this effort, there is an expectation of perfection that simply does not exist.

Choosing a college in not dissimilar to choosing a life partner, and just as no marriage is flawless, the perfect college is but a myth. Last spring, author Alain de Botton wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about “Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person.” He argued that, “It’s one of the things we are most afraid might happen to us. We go to great lengths to avoid it. And yet we do it all the same: We marry the wrong person.”

This will be my message to high school seniors this year: No college is perfect and if they start with that premise, they will be less likely to face disappointment.

Botton writes: “The problem is that before marriage, we rarely delve into our complexities. Whenever casual relationships threaten to reveal our flaws, we blame our partners and call it a day.”

I see this increasingly every year from students who are either paralyzed by college choice or who just months in are having buyer’s remorse. Instead, students must embrace the complexities of college life and opportunity and accept the imperfections.

So what if a student does pick the wrong college? In some ways, it is inevitable, because no school is perfect. Botton contends that in marriage, picking the wrong partner doesn’t mean we need to extricate ourselves. Instead he suggests that we abandon “the founding Romantic idea upon which the Western understanding of marriage has been based the last 250 years: that a perfect being exists who can meet all our needs and satisfy our every yearning.”

Likewise, though it may be “the best four years of your life,” any single college will not meet every need and desire that one has for an education. This is why internships, study abroad, graduate school and other opportunities exist — to provide outlets for one’s yearning. For other disillusioned college students who are so unhappy, they are transferring — alot. A 2015 report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that more than a third of college students transfer and that nearly half of those do it more than once.

Perhaps a college has most of what a student is looking for academically or socially but the location or food or athletic spirit do not meet expectations. Instead of embracing the positive and engaging the complexities, however, students focus on the flaws and envision a more perfect ideal that exists only in their mind’s eye.

The college application process mistakenly sends the message that students should demonstrate perfection in high school achievement and in turn admitted applicants erroneously seek this same flawlessness in a college. This is an unhealthy start to a partnership.

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Instead, seniors faced with the good fortune of college choice should not assume perfection but rather consider each school’s quirks and weaknesses, and ask whether they can accept these over time. If they practice this now with college, perhaps they will learn important lessons about romanticizing life and relationships.

(Correction: Decision day is May 1st, not April 1st as an earlier version of this said.)

The Queen Elizabeth II – Style File

It was June 1953 when 27-year-old Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne and became the Queen of England and ruler of much of the free world. With over 23,000 days on the throne under her belt, Queen Elizabeth II has now commemorated her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Sapphire Jubilees, becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch. During her 65 years in power, she has used her wardrobe to convey an image of a stately world leader and was aided – to this end – by two couturiers in particular: Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. Hartnell was the designer commissioned to create her coronation and wedding gowns and many of the shimmering satin confections that she wore to glamorous state occasions, while Amies primarily took care of Her Majesty’s daytime wardrobe. Over the years, the Queen has become famous for wearing bright, block colours, pearl necklaces, pristine white gloves, headscarves and plaid skirts. Now her style is iconic, with her Launer handbags instantly recognisable and synonymous with her and Dolce & Gabbana basing an entire collection around her signature looks. Look back at the amazing fashion history of Queen Elizabeth II below.

1927

Princess Elizabeth at St Paul’s Walden Bury, home to her maternal Grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, in 1927. Born in April 1926, Princess Elizabeth was one when this picture was taken.CREDIT REX

1931

Princess Elizabeth takes her dog for a walk in London. She was not expected to become Queen at this point, although she was third in line to the throne. The Princess’s early years were primarily spent at 145 Piccadilly, her parent’s London house.CREDIT GETTY

1933

The future Queen Elizabeth II at Abergeldie Castle in Scotland at the age of seven.CREDIT GETTY

July 1936

Wearing matching plaid kilts and knitted sweaters, Princess Elizabeth (right), held the Pembrokeshire corgi in her arms as the dog received a biscuit from her younger sister, Princess Margaret.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

1936

Princess Elizabeth in the grounds of her London home, 145 Piccadilly with her beloved corgi.CREDIT GETTY

April 1937

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI were pictured arriving with Princess Elizabeth, then aged 11, and Princess Margaret at Central Hall, Westminster, for the coronation concert for children. The sisters wore the same tailored dress coat with contrast-trim lapels and matching ribbon-adorned hats.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

1937

King George VI of England on his Coronation Day with his wife Elizabeth, princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and his mother, Queen MaryCREDIT GETTY

March 1939

Princess Elizabeth (right) and Princess Margaret in London after a children’s party.CREDIT GETTY

April 1940

On her 14th birthday, and in riding gear, the young Princess Elizabeth was pictured picking daffodils in Windsor Great Park. The Princess and her sister were moved to Windsor a month later, as the danger from Luftwaffe bombings increased.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 1940

Princess Elizabeth reading at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, 22 June 1940, nearly a year into the Second World War.CREDIT GETTY

July 1941

The Queen Mother with Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, on 8 July 1941. Their London home, Buckingham Palace had been hit 4 months earlier by a German bomb. The family refused to leave Britain, against Foreign Office advice. Their clothing was rationed from June 1941 on, as it was for all other children in the United Kingdom.CREDIT GETTY

April 1942

Princess Elizabeth learns to tie a knot with the girl guides in Frogmore, Windsor on April 11, 1942. Shortly after this photograph was taken, her father the King made her Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. She subsequently applied for official war work when she turned 16.CREDIT GETTY

August 1943

Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret Rose with a land girl at harvest time, Sandringham, Norfolk, 17th August 1943.CREDIT GETTY

February 1944

Princess Elizabeth and sister Princess Margaret arrive at Westminster Abbey for the wedding of Lady Anne Spencer (the future aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales) and Lieutenant Christopher Wake-Walker.CREDIT REX FEATURES

1945

Princess Elizabeth in her uniform as a second subaltern in the ATS, 1945. On 8th May 1945, peace was declared in Europe, and the Princess and her sister celebrated anonymously among the crowds outside Buckingham Palace.CREDIT GETTY

July 1946

Princess Elizabeth chatting with her father, King George VI on 8th July 1946.CREDIT GETTY

November 1946

The royal family arrive at the London Palladium for the Royal Variety Performance, 5th November 1946CREDIT GETTY

July 1947

Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé, Philip Mountbatten, revealed they were to marry on the 10th of July, 1947. The pair had been friends for many years and they had corresponded by letter through the latter years of the war.CREDIT GETTY

July 1947

Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé arrive at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh to attend a dinner given by the Duchess of Buccleugh.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

November 1947

The ivory silk dress Princess Elizabeth wore on her wedding day was designed by Norman Hartnell, and was inspired by Botticelli’s painting of Primavera. The gown was embroidered with white seed pearls, imported from America, silver thread, sparkling crystals and transparent appliqué tulle embroidery. A 13-foot train was attached at the shoulders and a silk tulle veil covered the Princess’ face. The satin bridal shoes were created by Edward Rayne. At the time the dress was made, the country was still suffering the financial aftermath of the Second World War and the Queen famously saved her ration cards to pay for her dress.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

April 1948

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret at the unveiling of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s British memorial in London.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

May 1948

Princess Elizabeth chatting to Mme Bidault, wife of the French minister Georges Bidault, in the garden of the Palace of Versailles. She is wearing Norman Hartnell.CREDIT GETTY

December 1948

The Queen holds her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, following his christening service at Buckingham Palace. Prince Charles wears the royal christening gown, which was also worn by his mother, made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter’s christening in 1841.CREDIT GETTY

May 1949

Princess Elizabeth attends the opening of the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Home Park, 12th May 1949. On the left is Geoffrey Cross, who founded the show in 1943.CREDIT GETTY

August 1949

For an official royal portrait, the future Queen wore her personally owned tiara, known as The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. It was a wedding present from her grandmother, Queen Mary, on her marriage to Philip Mountbatten, and had originally been gifted to Mary as a wedding present in 1893.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

March 1950

Princess Elizabeth looked every inch the future Queen of England when she arrived at the Royal Opera House in this regal white gown covered with intricate embroidery.CREDIT REX FEATURES

September 1950

Two years before she was crowned the Queen of England, she wore a floral dress with pearls for this photograph with one of her corgis.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

November 1950

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles watching a procession, during the visit of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands from the wall of Clarence House, London, 22nd November 1950.CREDIT GETTY

August 1951

Politician and tennis player Lady Domini Crosfield goes into tea with her guest, Princess Elizabeth, during one of the annual tennis parties given by Lady Crosfield at her mansion, Witanhurst, in Highgate, London, August 1951.CREDIT GETTY

October 1951

The Duke of Edinburgh dances with his wife, Princess Elizabeth, at a square dance held in their honour in Ottawa, by Governor General Viscount Alexander, 17th October 1951.CREDIT GETTY

June 2 1953

Norman Hartnell was commissioned to create the gown that Elizabeth wore when she became Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

September 1952

Queen Elizabeth II with two dogs at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, 28th September 1952.CREDIT GETTY

November 1953

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leave the House of Assembly in Hamilton, during a Commonwealth Visit to Bermuda, November 1953.CREDIT GETTY

November 1954

Queen Elizabeth II on her Royal Tour of Australia – Lord Mayor of Sydney Pat Hills lightly touched Queen Elizabeth on their way in to a ball, causing a press sensation due to the breach of etiquette. He said later on that he was concerned she might fall.CREDIT REX

February 1956

Queen Elizabeth II with Government minister Makaman Bida during her Commonwealth visit to Nigeria, February 1956.CREDIT GETTY

April 1956

Queen Elizabeth II at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, for the Badminton Horse Trials, April 1956. In the background (left) are Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother.CREDIT GETTY

October 1957

Queen Elizabeth II of England welcoming US President Dwight Eisenhower to the British Embassy in Washington D.C. The Queen is wearing the Vladimir Tiara with emerald drops, and the Cambridge and Dehli Durbar Necklace. Both pieces of jewellery were created for Queen Mary.CREDIT REX

1957

Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, and her husband and consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.CREDIT REX

1958

Wearing a smart single-breasted coat with a matching hat and a leopard print scarf, she was joined by her eight-year-old daughter Princess Anne and one of the family’s corgis for an official visit to Liverpool Street Station in London.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 16 1959

She wore a lemon lace dress and matching jacket for a cocktail party at Windsor given by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. The party marked the climax of a good day for the Queen – her horse, Above Suspicion, won at Ascot, and Prince Philip played in a polo match later in the day at Windsor Park.CREDIT REX FEATURES

January 1960

Queen Elizabeth II at Epsom Downs Racecourse for the Oaks Stakes, Surrey, shortly before giving birth to her second son, Prince Andrew.CREDIT GETTY

June 1961

At Buckingham Palace during a banquest held in his honor, American President John F. Kennedy and his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, pose with Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip. Mrs. Kennedy’s dress was designed by Chez Ninon while the Queen wore a Hartnell gown.CREDIT GETTY

March 1962

The Queen wears a warm leopard-skin coat on a very cold March day at the Sandown Park race meeting. With her is the Queen Mother.CREDIT PA

June 1963

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh pictured in London.CREDIT PA

July 1964

Queen Elizabeth presents new colours to the RAF at Buckingham Palace.CREDIT PA

May 1965

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with Jackie Kennedy and her children John Jr. and Caroline during the inauguration of Britain’s Kennedy memorial at Runnymede.CREDIT GETTY

June 1966

Queen Elizabeth reviewed the Royal Observer Corps at the headquarters of Royal Air Force Fighter Command, Middlesex. She is wearing one of three ‘Bow’ diamond brooches made for Queen Victoria by Garrard, in 1858.CREDIT PA

1967

The Queen wore a pink and green patterned double-breasted coat by Hardy Amies for a royal visit to Malta. Her Majesty is also wearing one of her favourite brooches, the Cullinan V Brooch, made by Garrard in 1911. The Queen owns several pieces of jewellery featuring the largest stones cut from the Cullinan diamond, the largest ever found.CREDIT REX FEATURES

1968

Princess Anne and the Queen gave four-year-old Prince Edward a swing while out in the grounds of Frogmore in Windsor. While Anne opted for a bold yellow dress with a short hemline, her mother chose a demure mint green two-piece skirt suit.CREDIT REX FEATURES

March 1969

The Queen at the controls of a tube train at Green Park station as she opens the new section of the Victoria Line on the London Underground.CREDIT PA

Queen Elizabeth, pictured with U.S. President Richard Nixon, right, and Britain’s Prime Minister Edward Heath at Chequers, Buckinghamshire, in 1970CREDIT

February 1972

Queen Elizabeth II and Thailand’s King Bhumipol Adulyadej inspect the troops in Thailand. They are the longest reigning living monarchs in the world, King Bhumipol having reigned since he was 18 years old.CREDIT PA

September 1972

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit a farm on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, during their Silver Wedding anniversary year.CREDIT GETTY

The Queen reading newspapers during her flight home from Bridgetown, Barbados, on Concorde after her Silver Jubilee tour of Canada and the West Indies.CREDIT PA

May 1978

The Queen on a state visit to Germany, at the Columbus Quay, Bremerhaven.CREDIT PA

July 1979

The Queen made a rare appearance in trousers when she, Prince Andrew and Prince Philip were on safari at the Luangwa National Park in Zambia during their tour of Africa in 1979.CREDIT REX FEATURES

May 1980

She didn’t have a hair out of place when she donned a pussy-bow blouse, a checked shirt, a brown cardigan and sunglasses to walk her dogs during the Windsor horse trials.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

July 1981

The Queen with Earl Spencer at the wedding of his daughter Diana Spencer, to Prince Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral. Her Majesty is wearing the Williamson Diamond Brooch designed for her by Cartier in 1953, featuring an enormous 23.6 carat pink diamond as a ‘jonquil’ flower.CREDIT GETTY

1982

The Queen in relaxed clothing at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.CREDIT REX

March 1983

Queen Elizabeth toasts President Ronald Reagan at a banquet during the Queen’s official visit to the US in March 1983 in San Francisco, California.CREDIT GETTY

1984

Her Majesty wore a coordinating dress and cape, which was secured with a brooch, for the polo at the Guards Polo Club.CREDIT REX FEATURE

December 1985

The Queen in her office at Buckingham Palace.CREDIT REX

1986

In a bright pink Hardy Amies coat during her tour of New Zealand.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 1987

Her Majesty at the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh, Scotland. For special occasions, members of the order wear an elaborate costume with a dark green velvet mantle, black velvet hat with plume, and the star of the Order of the Thistle.CREDIT REX

1988

The Queen and Princess Anne wore matching buttercup yellow ensembles to the Derby at Epsom Downs in the Eighties.CREDIT REX FEATURES

The Queen Elizabeth II – Style File

It was June 1953 when 27-year-old Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne and became the Queen of England and ruler of much of the free world. With over 23,000 days on the throne under her belt, Queen Elizabeth II has now commemorated her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Sapphire Jubilees, becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch. During her 65 years in power, she has used her wardrobe to convey an image of a stately world leader and was aided – to this end – by two couturiers in particular: Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. Hartnell was the designer commissioned to create her coronation and wedding gowns and many of the shimmering satin confections that she wore to glamorous state occasions, while Amies primarily took care of Her Majesty’s daytime wardrobe. Over the years, the Queen has become famous for wearing bright, block colours, pearl necklaces, pristine white gloves, headscarves and plaid skirts. Now her style is iconic, with her Launer handbags instantly recognisable and synonymous with her and Dolce & Gabbana basing an entire collection around her signature looks. Look back at the amazing fashion history of Queen Elizabeth II below.

1927

Princess Elizabeth at St Paul’s Walden Bury, home to her maternal Grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, in 1927. Born in April 1926, Princess Elizabeth was one when this picture was taken.CREDIT REX

1931

Princess Elizabeth takes her dog for a walk in London. She was not expected to become Queen at this point, although she was third in line to the throne. The Princess’s early years were primarily spent at 145 Piccadilly, her parent’s London house.CREDIT GETTY

1933

The future Queen Elizabeth II at Abergeldie Castle in Scotland at the age of seven.CREDIT GETTY

July 1936

Wearing matching plaid kilts and knitted sweaters, Princess Elizabeth (right), held the Pembrokeshire corgi in her arms as the dog received a biscuit from her younger sister, Princess Margaret.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

1936

Princess Elizabeth in the grounds of her London home, 145 Piccadilly with her beloved corgi.CREDIT GETTY

April 1937

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI were pictured arriving with Princess Elizabeth, then aged 11, and Princess Margaret at Central Hall, Westminster, for the coronation concert for children. The sisters wore the same tailored dress coat with contrast-trim lapels and matching ribbon-adorned hats.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

1937

King George VI of England on his Coronation Day with his wife Elizabeth, princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and his mother, Queen MaryCREDIT GETTY

March 1939

Princess Elizabeth (right) and Princess Margaret in London after a children’s party.CREDIT GETTY

April 1940

On her 14th birthday, and in riding gear, the young Princess Elizabeth was pictured picking daffodils in Windsor Great Park. The Princess and her sister were moved to Windsor a month later, as the danger from Luftwaffe bombings increased.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 1940

Princess Elizabeth reading at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, 22 June 1940, nearly a year into the Second World War.CREDIT GETTY

July 1941

The Queen Mother with Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, on 8 July 1941. Their London home, Buckingham Palace had been hit 4 months earlier by a German bomb. The family refused to leave Britain, against Foreign Office advice. Their clothing was rationed from June 1941 on, as it was for all other children in the United Kingdom.CREDIT GETTY

April 1942

Princess Elizabeth learns to tie a knot with the girl guides in Frogmore, Windsor on April 11, 1942. Shortly after this photograph was taken, her father the King made her Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. She subsequently applied for official war work when she turned 16.CREDIT GETTY

August 1943

Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret Rose with a land girl at harvest time, Sandringham, Norfolk, 17th August 1943.CREDIT GETTY

February 1944

Princess Elizabeth and sister Princess Margaret arrive at Westminster Abbey for the wedding of Lady Anne Spencer (the future aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales) and Lieutenant Christopher Wake-Walker.CREDIT REX FEATURES

1945

Princess Elizabeth in her uniform as a second subaltern in the ATS, 1945. On 8th May 1945, peace was declared in Europe, and the Princess and her sister celebrated anonymously among the crowds outside Buckingham Palace.CREDIT GETTY

July 1946

Princess Elizabeth chatting with her father, King George VI on 8th July 1946.CREDIT GETTY

November 1946

The royal family arrive at the London Palladium for the Royal Variety Performance, 5th November 1946CREDIT GETTY

July 1947

Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé, Philip Mountbatten, revealed they were to marry on the 10th of July, 1947. The pair had been friends for many years and they had corresponded by letter through the latter years of the war.CREDIT GETTY

July 1947

Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé arrive at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh to attend a dinner given by the Duchess of Buccleugh.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

November 1947

The ivory silk dress Princess Elizabeth wore on her wedding day was designed by Norman Hartnell, and was inspired by Botticelli’s painting of Primavera. The gown was embroidered with white seed pearls, imported from America, silver thread, sparkling crystals and transparent appliqué tulle embroidery. A 13-foot train was attached at the shoulders and a silk tulle veil covered the Princess’ face. The satin bridal shoes were created by Edward Rayne. At the time the dress was made, the country was still suffering the financial aftermath of the Second World War and the Queen famously saved her ration cards to pay for her dress.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

April 1948

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret at the unveiling of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s British memorial in London.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

May 1948

Princess Elizabeth chatting to Mme Bidault, wife of the French minister Georges Bidault, in the garden of the Palace of Versailles. She is wearing Norman Hartnell.CREDIT GETTY

December 1948

The Queen holds her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, following his christening service at Buckingham Palace. Prince Charles wears the royal christening gown, which was also worn by his mother, made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter’s christening in 1841.CREDIT GETTY

May 1949

Princess Elizabeth attends the opening of the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Home Park, 12th May 1949. On the left is Geoffrey Cross, who founded the show in 1943.CREDIT GETTY

August 1949

For an official royal portrait, the future Queen wore her personally owned tiara, known as The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. It was a wedding present from her grandmother, Queen Mary, on her marriage to Philip Mountbatten, and had originally been gifted to Mary as a wedding present in 1893.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

March 1950

Princess Elizabeth looked every inch the future Queen of England when she arrived at the Royal Opera House in this regal white gown covered with intricate embroidery.CREDIT REX FEATURES

September 1950

Two years before she was crowned the Queen of England, she wore a floral dress with pearls for this photograph with one of her corgis.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

November 1950

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles watching a procession, during the visit of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands from the wall of Clarence House, London, 22nd November 1950.CREDIT GETTY

August 1951

Politician and tennis player Lady Domini Crosfield goes into tea with her guest, Princess Elizabeth, during one of the annual tennis parties given by Lady Crosfield at her mansion, Witanhurst, in Highgate, London, August 1951.CREDIT GETTY

October 1951

The Duke of Edinburgh dances with his wife, Princess Elizabeth, at a square dance held in their honour in Ottawa, by Governor General Viscount Alexander, 17th October 1951.CREDIT GETTY

June 2 1953

Norman Hartnell was commissioned to create the gown that Elizabeth wore when she became Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

September 1952

Queen Elizabeth II with two dogs at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, 28th September 1952.CREDIT GETTY

November 1953

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leave the House of Assembly in Hamilton, during a Commonwealth Visit to Bermuda, November 1953.CREDIT GETTY

November 1954

Queen Elizabeth II on her Royal Tour of Australia – Lord Mayor of Sydney Pat Hills lightly touched Queen Elizabeth on their way in to a ball, causing a press sensation due to the breach of etiquette. He said later on that he was concerned she might fall.CREDIT REX

February 1956

Queen Elizabeth II with Government minister Makaman Bida during her Commonwealth visit to Nigeria, February 1956.CREDIT GETTY

April 1956

Queen Elizabeth II at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, for the Badminton Horse Trials, April 1956. In the background (left) are Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother.CREDIT GETTY

October 1957

Queen Elizabeth II of England welcoming US President Dwight Eisenhower to the British Embassy in Washington D.C. The Queen is wearing the Vladimir Tiara with emerald drops, and the Cambridge and Dehli Durbar Necklace. Both pieces of jewellery were created for Queen Mary.CREDIT REX

1957

Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, and her husband and consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.CREDIT REX

1958

Wearing a smart single-breasted coat with a matching hat and a leopard print scarf, she was joined by her eight-year-old daughter Princess Anne and one of the family’s corgis for an official visit to Liverpool Street Station in London.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 16 1959

She wore a lemon lace dress and matching jacket for a cocktail party at Windsor given by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. The party marked the climax of a good day for the Queen – her horse, Above Suspicion, won at Ascot, and Prince Philip played in a polo match later in the day at Windsor Park.CREDIT REX FEATURES

January 1960

Queen Elizabeth II at Epsom Downs Racecourse for the Oaks Stakes, Surrey, shortly before giving birth to her second son, Prince Andrew.CREDIT GETTY

June 1961

At Buckingham Palace during a banquest held in his honor, American President John F. Kennedy and his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, pose with Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip. Mrs. Kennedy’s dress was designed by Chez Ninon while the Queen wore a Hartnell gown.CREDIT GETTY

March 1962

The Queen wears a warm leopard-skin coat on a very cold March day at the Sandown Park race meeting. With her is the Queen Mother.CREDIT PA

June 1963

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh pictured in London.CREDIT PA

July 1964

Queen Elizabeth presents new colours to the RAF at Buckingham Palace.CREDIT PA

May 1965

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with Jackie Kennedy and her children John Jr. and Caroline during the inauguration of Britain’s Kennedy memorial at Runnymede.CREDIT GETTY

June 1966

Queen Elizabeth reviewed the Royal Observer Corps at the headquarters of Royal Air Force Fighter Command, Middlesex. She is wearing one of three ‘Bow’ diamond brooches made for Queen Victoria by Garrard, in 1858.CREDIT PA

1967

The Queen wore a pink and green patterned double-breasted coat by Hardy Amies for a royal visit to Malta. Her Majesty is also wearing one of her favourite brooches, the Cullinan V Brooch, made by Garrard in 1911. The Queen owns several pieces of jewellery featuring the largest stones cut from the Cullinan diamond, the largest ever found.CREDIT REX FEATURE

1968

Princess Anne and the Queen gave four-year-old Prince Edward a swing while out in the grounds of Frogmore in Windsor. While Anne opted for a bold yellow dress with a short hemline, her mother chose a demure mint green two-piece skirt suit.CREDIT REX FEATURES

March 1969

The Queen at the controls of a tube train at Green Park station as she opens the new section of the Victoria Line on the London Underground.CREDIT PA

Queen Elizabeth II and Thailand’s King Bhumipol Adulyadej inspect the troops in Thailand. They are the longest reigning living monarchs in the world, King Bhumipol having reigned since he was 18 years old.CREDIT PA

September 1972

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit a farm on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, during their Silver Wedding anniversary year.CREDIT GETTY

The Queen reading newspapers during her flight home from Bridgetown, Barbados, on Concorde after her Silver Jubilee tour of Canada and the West Indies.CREDIT PA

May 1978

The Queen on a state visit to Germany, at the Columbus Quay, Bremerhaven.CREDIT PA

July 1979

The Queen made a rare appearance in trousers when she, Prince Andrew and Prince Philip were on safari at the Luangwa National Park in Zambia during their tour of Africa in 1979.CREDIT REX FEATURES

May 1980

She didn’t have a hair out of place when she donned a pussy-bow blouse, a checked shirt, a brown cardigan and sunglasses to walk her dogs during the Windsor horse trials.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

July 1981

The Queen with Earl Spencer at the wedding of his daughter Diana Spencer, to Prince Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral. Her Majesty is wearing the Williamson Diamond Brooch designed for her by Cartier in 1953, featuring an enormous 23.6 carat pink diamond as a ‘jonquil’ flower.CREDIT GETTY

1982

The Queen in relaxed clothing at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.CREDIT REX

March 1983

Queen Elizabeth toasts President Ronald Reagan at a banquet during the Queen’s official visit to the US in March 1983 in San Francisco, California.CREDIT GETTY

1984

Her Majesty wore a coordinating dress and cape, which was secured with a brooch, for the polo at the Guards Polo Club.CREDIT REX FEATURES

December 1985

The Queen in her office at Buckingham Palace.CREDIT REX

1986

In a bright pink Hardy Amies coat during her tour of New Zealand.CREDIT REX FEATURES

June 1987

Her Majesty at the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh, Scotland. For special occasions, members of the order wear an elaborate costume with a dark green velvet mantle, black velvet hat with plume, and the star of the Order of the Thistle.CREDIT REX

1988

The Queen and Princess Anne wore matching buttercup yellow ensembles to the Derby at Epsom Downs in the Eighties.CREDIT REX FEATURES

Queen Elizabeth II – Style File

It was June 1953 when 27-year-old Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne and became the Queen of England and ruler of much of the free world. With over 23,000 days on the throne under her belt, Queen Elizabeth II has now commemorated her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Sapphire Jubilees, becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch. During her 65 years in power, she has used her wardrobe to convey an image of a stately world leader and was aided – to this end – by two couturiers in particular: Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. Hartnell was the designer commissioned to create her coronation and wedding gowns and many of the shimmering satin confections that she wore to glamorous state occasions, while Amies primarily took care of Her Majesty’s daytime wardrobe. Over the years, the Queen has become famous for wearing bright, block colours, pearl necklaces, pristine white gloves, headscarves and plaid skirts. Now her style is iconic, with her Launer handbags instantly recognisable and synonymous with her and Dolce & Gabbana basing an entire collection around her signature looks. Look back at the amazing fashion history of Queen Elizabeth II below.

1927

Princess Elizabeth at St Paul’s Walden Bury, home to her maternal Grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, in 1927. Born in April 1926, Princess Elizabeth was one when this picture was taken.CREDIT REX

1931

Princess Elizabeth takes her dog for a walk in London. She was not expected to become Queen at this point, although she was third in line to the throne. The Princess’s early years were primarily spent at 145 Piccadilly, her parent’s London house.CREDIT GETTY

1933

The future Queen Elizabeth II at Abergeldie Castle in Scotland at the age of seven.CREDIT GETTY

July 1936

Wearing matching plaid kilts and knitted sweaters, Princess Elizabeth (right), held the Pembrokeshire corgi in her arms as the dog received a biscuit from her younger sister, Princess Margaret.CREDIT PA PHOTOS

1936

Princess Elizabeth in the grounds of her London home, 145 Piccadilly with her beloved corgi.CREDIT GETTY